Step by step has He bestowed upon thee from on high this divine
writ,2 setting forth the truth which confirms whatever
there still remains [of earlier revelations]:3 for it is
He who has bestowed from on high the Torah and the Gospel

aforetime, as a guidance unto mankind, and it is He who has
bestowed [upon man] the standard by which to discern the true
from the false.4 Behold, as for those who are bent on
denying God's messages - grievous suffering awaits them: for God
is almighty, an avenger of evil.

He it is who has bestowed upon thee from on high this divine
writ, containing messages that are clear in and by themselves -
and these are the essence of the divine writ- as well as others
that are allegorical.5 Now those whose hearts are given
to swerving from the truth go after that part of the divine
writ6 which has been expressed in allegory, seeking out
[what is bound to create] confusion,7 and seeking [to
arrive at] its final meaning [in an arbitrary manner]; but none
save God knows its final meaning.8 Hence, those who are
deeply rooted in knowledge say: "We believe in it; the whole [of
the divine writ] is from our Sustainer - albeit none takes this
to heart save those who are endowed with insight.

BEHOLD, as for those who are bent on denying the truth - neither
their worldly possessions nor their offspring will in the least
avail them against God; and it is they, they who shall be the
fuel of the fire!

[To them shall happen] the like of what happened to Pharaoh's
people and those who lived before them: they gave the lie to Our
messages - and so God took them to task for their sins: for God
is severe in retribution.

You have already had a sign in the two hosts that met in battle,
one host fighting in God's cause and the other denying Him; with
their own eyes [the former] saw the others as twice their own
number: but God strengthens with His succour whom He wills. In
this, behold, there is indeed a lesson for all who have eyes to
see.9

ALLURING unto man is the enjoyment of worldly desires through
women, and children, and heaped-up treasures of gold and silver,
and horses of high mark, and cattle, and lands. All this may be
enjoyed in the life of this world - but the most beauteous of all
goals is with God.

Say: "Shall I tell you of better things than those [earthly
joys]? For the God-conscious there are, with their Sustainer,
gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide, and
spouses pure, and God's goodly acceptance." And God sees all that
is in [the hearts of] His servants -

GOD [Himself] proffers evidence11 - and [so do] the
angels and all who are endowed with knowledge - that there is no
deity save Him, the Upholder of Equity: there is no deity save
Him, the Almighty, the Truly Wise.

Behold, the only [true] religion in the sight of God is [man's]
self-surrender unto Him; and those who were vouchsafed revelation
aforetime12 took, out of mutual jealousy, to divergent
views [on this point] only after knowledge [thereof] had come
unto them.13 But as for him who denies the truth of
God's messages-behold, God is swift in reckoning!

Thus, [O Prophet,] if they argue with thee, say, "I have
surrendered my whole being unto God, and [so have] all who follow
me!" - and ask those who have been vouchsafed revelation
aforetime, as well as all unlettered people,14 "Have you
[too] surrendered yourselves unto Him?" And if they surrender
themselves unto Him, they are on the right path; but if they turn
away-behold, thy duty is no more than to deliver the message: for
God sees all that is in [the hearts of] His creatures.

Art thou not aware of those who have been granted their share of
revelation [aforetime]? They have been called upon to let God's
writ be their law16 - and yet some of them turn away
[from it] in their obstinacy,

simply because they claim, "The fire will most certainly not
touch us for more than a limited number of days":17 and
thus the false beliefs which they invented have [in time] caused
them to betray their faith.18

How, then, [will they fare] when We shall gather them all
together to witness the Day about [the coming of] which there is
no doubt, and every human being shall be repaid in full for what
he has done, and none shall be wronged?

"Thou makest the night grow longer by shortening the day, and
Thou makest the day grow longer by shortening the night. And Thou
bringest forth the living out of that which is dead, and Thou
bringest forth the dead out of that which is alive. And Thou
grantest sustenance unto whom Thou willest, beyond all
reckoning."

LET NOT the believers take those who deny the truth for their
allies in preference to the believers19 - since he who
does this cuts himself off from God in everything - unless it be
to protect yourselves against them in this way.20 But
God warns you to beware of Him: for with God is all journeys'
end.

On the Day when every human being will find himself faced with
all the good that he has done, and with all the evil that he has
done, [many a one] will wish that there were a long span of time
between himself and that [Day]. Hence, God warns you to beware of
Him; but God is most compassionate towards His creatures.

But when she had given birth to the child,24 she said:
"O my Sustainer! Behold, I have given birth to a female" - the
while God had been fully aware of what she would give birth to,
and [fully aware] that no male child [she might have hoped for]
could ever have been like this female25 - "and I have
named her Mary. And, verily, I seek Thy protection for her and
her offspring against Satan, the accursed."

And so her Sustainer accepted the girl-child with goodly
acceptance, and caused her to grow up in goodly growth, and
placed her in the care of Zachariah26 Whenever Zachariah
visited her in the sanctuary, he found her provided with food. He
would ask: "O Mary, whence came this unto thee?" She would
answer: "It is from God; behold, God grants sustenance unto whom
He wills, beyond all reckoning."27

Thereupon, as he stood praying in the sanctuary, the angels
called out unto him: "God sends thee the glad tiding of [the
birth of] John, who shall confirm the truth of a word from
God,28 and [shall be] outstanding among men, and utterly
chaste, and a prophet from among the righteous."

[Zachariah] prayed: "O my Sustainer! Appoint a sign for me!" Said
[the angel]: "Thy sign shall be that for three days thou wilt not
speak unto men other than by gestures.29 And remember
thy Sustainer unceasingly, and extol His limitless glory by night
and by day."

This account of something that was beyond the reach of thy
perception We [now] reveal unto thee:30 for thou wert
not with them when they drew lots as to which of them should be
Mary's guardian,31 and thou wert not with them when they
contended [about it] with one another.

Lo! The angels said: "O Mary! Behold, God sends thee the glad
tiding, through a word from Him, [of a son] who shall become
known as the Christ32 Jesus, son of Mary, of great
honour in this world and in the life to come, and [shall be] of
those who are drawn near unto God.

Said she: "O my Sustainer! How can I have a son when no man has
ever touched me?" [The angel] answered: "Thus it is: God creates
what He wills:34 when He wills a thing to be, He but
says unto it, 'Be'- and it is.

and [will make him] an apostle unto the children of
Israel."36 "I HAVE COME unto you with a message from
your Sustainer. I shall create for you out of clay, as it were,
the shape of [your] destiny, and then breathe into it, so that it
might become [your] destiny by God's leave:37 and I
shall heal the blind and the leper, and bring the dead back to
life by God's leave:38 and I shall let you know what you
may eat and what you should store up in your houses.39
Behold, in all this there is indeed a message for you, if you are
[truly] believers.

"And [I have come] to confirm the truth of whatever there still
remains40 of the Torah, and to make lawful unto you some
of the things which [aforetime] were forbidden to you. And I have
come unto you with a message from your Sustainer; remain, then,
conscious of God, and pay heed unto me.

And when Jesus became aware of their refusal to acknowledge the
truth,41 he asked: "Who will be my helpers in God's
cause?" The white-garbed ones42 replied: "We shall be
[thy] helpers [in the cause] of God! We believe in God: and bear
thou witness that we have surrendered ourselve unto Him!

Lo! God said: "O Jesus! Verily, I shall cause thee to die, and
shall exalt thee unto Me, and cleanse thee of [the presence of]
those who are bent on denying the truth; and I shall place those
who follow thee [far] above those who are bent on denying the
truth, unto the Day of Resurrection. In the end, unto Me you all
must return, and I shall judge between you with regard to all on
which you were wont to differ.45

And if anyone should argue with thee about this [truth] after all
the knowledge that has come unto thee, say: "Come! Let us summon
our sons and your sons, and our women and your women, and
ourselves and yourselves; and then let us pray [together] humbly
and ardently, and let us invoke God's curse upon those [of us]
who are telling a lie."48

Say: "O followers of earlier revelation! Come unto that tenet
which we and you hold in common:49 that we shall worship
none but God, and that we shall not ascribe divinity to aught
beside Him, and that we shall not take human beings for our lords
beside God."50 And if they turn away, then say: "Bear
witness that it is we who have surrendered ourselves unto Him.

Abraham was neither a "Jew" nor a "Christian", but was one who
turned away from all that is false, having surrendered himself
unto God; and he was not of those who ascribe divinity to aught
beside Him.

And some of the followers of earlier revelation say [to one
another]: "Declare your belief in what has been revealed unto
those who believe [in Muhammad] at the beginning of the day, and
deny the truth of what came later,54 so that they might
go back [on their faith];

but do not [really] believe anyone who does not follow your own
faith." Say: "Behold, all [true] guidance is God's guidance
consisting in one's being granted [revelation] such as you have
been granted."55 Or would they contend against you
before your Sustainer? Say: "Behold, all bounty is in the hand of
God; He grants it unto whom He wills:56 for God is
infinite all-knowing,

AND AMONG the followers of earlier revelation there is many a one
who, if thou entrust him with a treasure, will [faithfully]
restore it to thee; and there is among them many a one who, if
thou entrust him with a tiny gold coin, will not restore it to
thee unless thou keep standing over him - which is an outcome of
their assertion,57 "No blame can attach to us [for
anything that we may do] with regard to these unlettered folk":
and [so] they tell a lie about God, being well aware [that it is
a lie].58

Behold, those who barter away their bond with God and their own
pledges for a trifling gain - they shall not partake in the
blessings of the life to come; and God will neither speak unto
them nor look upon them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He
cleanse them of their sins; and grievous suffering awaits them.

And, behold, there are indeed some among them who distort the
Bible with their tongues, so as to make you think that [what they
say] is from the Bible, the while it is not from the Bible; and
who say, "This is from God," the while it is not from God: and
thus do they tell a lie about God, being well aware [that it is a
lie].60

It is not conceivable that a human being unto whom God had
granted revelation, and sound judgment, and prophethood, should
thereafter have said unto people,61 "Worship me beside
God"; but rather [did he exhort them], "Become men of
God62 by spreading the knowledge of the divine writ, and
by your own deep study [thereof]."

AND, LO, God accepted, through the prophets, this solemn pledge
[from the followers of earlier revelation]:64 "If, after
all the revelation and the wisdom which I have vouchsafed unto
you, there comes to you an apostle confirming the truth already
in your possession, you must believe in him and succour him. Do
you" - said He - "acknowledge and accept My bond on this
condition?" They answered: "We do acknowledge it." Said He: "Then
bear witness [thereto], and I shall be your witness.65

Do they seek, perchance, a faith other than in God,66
although it is unto Him that whatever is in the heavens and on
earth surrenders itself, willingly or unwillingly, since unto Him
all must return?67

Say: "We believe in God, and in that which has been bestowed from
on high upon us, and that which has been bestowed upon Abraham
and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and their descendants, and that
which has been vouchsafed by their Sustainer unto Moses and Jesus
and all the [other] prophets: we make no distinction between any
of them.68 And unto Him do we surrender ourselves."

How would God bestow His guidance upon people who have resolved
to deny the truth after having attained to faith, and having
borne witness that this Apostle is true, and [after] all evidence
of the truth has come unto them?69 For, God does not
guide such evildoing folk.

Verily, as for those who are bent on denying the truth after
having attained to faith, and then grow [ever more stubborn] in
their refusal to acknowledge the truth, their repentance [of
other sins] shall not be accepted:70 for it is they who
have truly gone astray.

Verily, as for those who are bent on denying the truth and die as
deniers of the truth - not all the gold on earth could ever be
their ransom.71 It is they for whom grievous suffering
is in store; and they shall have none to succour them.

ALL FOOD was lawful unto the children of Israel, save what Israel
had made unlawful unto itself [by its sinning] before the Torah
was bestowed from on high.73 Say: "Come forward, then,
with the Torah and recite it, if what you say is true!"

full of clear messages.76 [It is] the place whereon
Abraham once stood; and whoever enters it finds inner
peace.77 Hence, pilgrimage unto the Temple is a duty
owed to God by all people who are able to undertake it. And as
for those who deny the truth - verily, God does not stand in need
of anything in all the worlds.

Disbelief of the Jews and Christians and do not obey the Jews or Christians

Say: "O followers of earlier revelation! Why do you [endeavour
to] bar those who have come to believe [in this divine writ] from
the path of God by trying to make it appear crooked, when you
yourselves bear witness78 [to its being straight]? For,
God is not unaware of what you do."

And how could you deny the truth when it is unto you that God's
messages are being conveyed, and it is in your midst that His
Apostle lives? But he who holds fast unto God has already been
guided onto a straight way.

And hold fast, all together, unto the bond with God, and do not
draw apart from one another. And remember the blessings which God
has bestowed upon you: how, when you were enemies, He brought
your hearts together, so that through His blessing you became
brethren; and [how, when] you were on the brink of a fiery
abyss,79 He saved you from it. In this way God makes
clear His messages unto you, so that you might find guidance,

and that there might grow out of you a community [of people] who
invite unto all that is good, and enjoin the doing of what is
right and forbid the doing of what is wrong: and it is they, they
who shall attain to a happy state!

And be not like those who have drawn apart from one another and
have taken to conflicting views after all evidence of the truth
has come unto them:80 for these it is for whom
tremendous suffering is in store

on the Day [of Judgment] when some faces will shine [with
happiness] and some faces will be dark [with grief]. And as for
those with faces darkened, [they shall be told:] "Did you deny
the truth after having attained to faith? Taste, then, this
suffering for having denied the truth!"

YOU ARE indeed the best community that has ever been brought
forth for [the good of] mankind: you enjoin the doing of what is
right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and you believe in
God. Now if the followers of earlier revelation had attained to
[this kind of] faith, it would have been for their own good; [but
only few] among them are believers, while most of them are
iniquitous:

Overshadowed by ignominy are they wherever they may be, save
[when they bind themselves again] in a bond with God and a bond
with men;83 for they have earned the burden of God's
condemnation, and are overshadowed by humiliation: all this [has
befallen them] because they persisted in denying the truth of
God's messages and in slaying the prophets against all right: all
this, because they rebelled [against God], and persisted in
transgressing the bounds of what is right.84

[But,] behold, as for those who are bent on denying the truth -
neither their worldly possessions nor their children will in the
least avail them against God: and it is they who are destined for
the fire, therein to abide.

The parable of what they spend on the life of this world is that
of an icy wind which smites the filth of people who have sinned
against themselves, and destroys it: for, it is not God who does
them wrong, but it is they who are wronging
themselves.86

O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not take for your
bosom-friends people who are not of your kind.87 They
spare no effort to corrupt you; they would love to see you in
distress.88 Vehement hatred has already come into the
open from out of their mouths, but what their hearts conceal is
yet worse. We have indeed made the signs [thereof] clear unto
you, if you would but use your reason.

Lo! It is you who [are prepared to] love them, but they will not
love you, although you believe in all of the
revelation.89 And when they meet you, they assert, "We
believe [as you believe]"; but when they find themselves alone,
they gnaw their fingers in rage against you. Say: "Perish in your
rage! Behold, God has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of
men]!"

If good fortune comes to you, it grieves them; and if evil
befalls you, they rejoice in it. But if you are patient in
adversity and conscious of God, their guile cannot harm you at
all: for, verily, God encompasses [with His might] all that they
do.

Lessons from the Battle of Uhud and Allah's help to the believers and Prophet does not have the authority to pardon the sinners

And God ordained this [to be said by His Apostle94 ]
only as a glad tiding for you, and that your hearts should
thereby be set at rest - since no succour can come from any save
God, the Almighty, the Truly Wise -

and who, when they have committed a shameful deed or have
[otherwise] sinned against themselves, remember God and pray that
their sins be forgiven - for who but God could forgive sins? -
and do not knowingly persist in doing whatever [wrong] they may
have done.

If misfortune100 touches you, [know that] similar
misfortune has touched [other] people as well; for it is by turns
that We apportion unto men such days [of fortune and misfortune]:
and [this] to the end that God might mark out those who have
attained to faith, and choose from among you such as [with their
lives] bear witness to the truth101 - since God does not
love evildoers -

AND MUHAMMAD is only an apostle; all the [other apostles have
passed away before him: if, then, he die or is slain, will you
turn about on your heels?104 But he that turns about on
his heels can in no wise harm God - whereas God will requite all
who are grateful [to Him].

And no human being can die save by God's leave, at a term
pre-ordained. And if one desires the rewards of this world, We
shall grant him thereof; and if one desires the rewards of the
life to come, We shall grant him thereof; and We shall requite
those who are grateful [to Us].

And how many a prophet has had to fight [in God's cause],
followed by many God-devoted men: and they did not become faint
of heart for all that they had to suffer in God's cause, and
neither did they weaken, nor did they abase themselves [before
the enemy], since God loves those who are patient in adversity;

Into the hearts of those who are bent on denying the truth We
shall cast dread in return for their ascribing divinity, side by
side with God, to other beings - [something] for which He has
never bestowed any warrant from on high;106 and their
goal is the fire - and how evil that abode of evildoers!

AND, INDEED, God made good His promise unto you when, by His
leave, you were about to destroy your foes107 - until
the moment when you lost heart and acted contrary to the
[Prophet's] command,108 and disobeyed after He had
brought you within view of that [victory] for which you were
longing. There were among you such as cared for this world
[alone], just as there were among you such as cared for the life
to come:109 whereupon, in order that He might put you to
a test, He prevented you from defeating your foes.110
But now He has effaced your sin: for God is limitless in His
bounty unto the believers.

[Remember the time] when you fled, paying no heed to anyone,
while at your rear the Apostle was calling out to you - wherefore
He requited you with woe in return for [the Apostle's] woe, so
that you should not grieve [merely] over what had escaped you,
nor over what had befallen you: for God is aware of all that you
do.111

Then, after this woe, He sent down upon you a sense of security,
an inner calm which enfolded some of you,112 whereas the
others, who cared mainly for themselves, entertained wrong
thoughts about God - thoughts of pagan ignorance - saying, "Did
we, then, have any power of decision [in this
matter]?"113 Say: "Verily, all power of decision does
rest with God"114 - [but as for them,] they are trying
to conceal within themselves that [weakness of faith] which they
would not reveal unto thee, [O Prophet, by] saying, "If we had
any power of decision, we would not have left so many dead
behind."115 Say [unto them]: "Even if you had remained
in your homes, those [of you] whose death had been ordained would
indeed have gone forth to the places where they were destined to
lie down." And [all this befell you] so that God might put to a
test all that you harbour in your bosoms, and render your
innermost hearts116 pure of all dross: for God is aware
of what is in the hearts [of men].

Behold, as for those of you who turned away [from their duty] on
the day when the two hosts met in battle - Satan caused them to
stumble only by means of something that they [themselves] had
done.117 But now God has effaced this sin of theirs:
verily, God is much-forgiving, forbearing.

0 you who have attained to faith! Be not like those who are bent
on denying the truth and say of their brethren [who die] after
having set out on a journey to faraway places118 or gone
forth to war, "Had they but remained with us, they would not have
died," or, "they would not have been slain" - for God will cause
such thoughts to become119 a source of bitter regret in
their hearts, since it is God who grants life and deals death.
And God sees all that you do.

And it was by God's grace that thou [O Prophet] didst deal gently
with thy followers:121 for if thou hadst been harsh and
hard of heart, they would indeed have broken away from thee.
Pardon them, then, and pray that they be forgiven. And take
counsel with them in all matters of public concern; then, when
thou hast decided upon a course of action, place thy trust in
God: for, verily, God loves those who place their trust in
Him.122

AND IT IS not conceivable that a prophet should
deceive123 - since he who deceives shall be faced with
his deceit on the Day of Resurrection, when every human being
shall be repaid in full for whatever he has done, and none shall
be wronged.

Indeed, God bestowed a favour upon the believers when he raised
up in their midst an apostle from among themselves, to convey His
messages unto them, and to cause them to grow in purity, and to
impart unto them the divine writ as well as wisdom - whereas
before that they were indeed, most obviously, lost in error.

Lessons to be learned from the Battle of Uhud and Those who are slain in the cause of Allah are not dead

AND DO YOU, now that a calamity has befallen you after you had
inflicted twice as much [on your foes],126 ask
yourselves, "How has this come about?" Say: "It has come from
your own selves."127 Verily, God has the power to will
anything:

and mark out those who were tainted with hypocrisy and, when they
were told, "Come, fight in God's cause" - or, "Defend
yourselves"128 - answered, "If we but knew [that it
would come to a] fight, we would indeed follow you." Unto
apostasy were they nearer on that day than unto faith, uttering
with their mouths something which was not in their
hearts,129 the while God knew fully well what they were
trying to conceal:

they who having themselves held back [from fighting, later] said
of their [slain] brethren, "Had they but paid heed to us, they
would not have been slain." Say: "Avert, then, death from
yourselves, if what you say is true!"

exulting in that [martyrdom] which God has bestowed upon them out
of His bounty. And they rejoice in the glad tiding given to those
[of their brethren] who have been left behind and have not yet
joined them, that no fear need they have, and neither shall they
grieve:

those who have been warned by other people,131 "Behold,
a host has gathered against you; so beware of them!" - whereupon
this only increased their faith, so that they answered, "God is
enough for us; and how excellent a guardian is He!"

- and returned [from the battle] with God's blessings and bounty,
without having been touched by evil:132 for they had
been striving after God's goodly acceptance - and God is
limitless in His great bounty.

And be not grieved by those who vie with one another in denying
the truth: verily, they can in no wise harm God. It is God's will
that they shall have no share134 in the [blessings of
the] life to come; and tremendous suffering awaits them.

And they should not think - they who are bent on denying the
truth - that Our giving them rein is good for them: We give them
rein only to let them grow in sinfulness; and shameful suffering
awaits them.135

It is not God's will [O you who deny the truth] to abandon the
believers to your way of life:136 [and] to that end He
will set apart the bad from the good. And it is not God's will to
give you insight into that which is beyond the reach of human
perception: but [to that end] God elects whomsoever He wills from
among His apostles.137 Believe, then, in God and His
apostles; for if you believe and are conscious of Him, a
magnificent requital awaits you.

AND THEY should not think - they who niggardly cling to all that
God has granted them out of His bounty - that this is good for
them: nay, it is bad for them.138 That to which they
[so] niggardly cling will, on the Day of Resurrection, be hung
about their necks: for unto God [alone] belongs the heritage of
the heavens and of the earth; and God is aware of all that you
do.

God has indeed heard the saying of those who said, "Behold, God
is poor while we are rich!"139 We shall record what they
have said, as well as their slaying of prophets against all
right,140 and We shall say [unto them on Judgment Day]:
"Taste suffering through fire

As for those who maintain, "Behold, God has bidden us not to
believe in any apostle unless he comes unto us with burnt
offerings"141 , - say [unto them, O Prophet]: "Even
before me there came unto you apostles with all evidence of the
truth, and with that whereof you speak: why, then, did you slay
them, if what you say is true?"142

And if they give thee the lie - even so, before thy time, have
[other] apostles been given the lie when they came with all
evidence of the truth, and with books of divine wisdom, and with
light-giving revelation.

Every human being is bound to taste death: but only on the Day of
Resurrection will you be requited in full [for whatever you have
done] - whereupon he that shall be drawn away from the fire and
brought into paradise will indeed have gained a triumph: for the
life of this world is nothing but an enjoyment of self-delusion.

You shall most certainly be tried in your possessions and in your
persons; and indeed you shall hear many hurtful things from those
to whom revelation was granted before your time, as well as from
those who have come to ascribe divinity to other beings beside
God. But if you remain patient in adversity and conscious of Him
- this, behold, is something to set one's heart upon.

AND LO, God accepted a solemn pledge from those who were granted
earlier revelation [when He bade them]: "Make it known unto
mankind, and do not conceal it!"143 But they cast this
[pledge] behind their backs, and bartered it away for a trifling
gain: and how evil was their bargain!144

Think not that those who exult in what they have thus contrived,
and who love to be praised for what they have not
done145 - think not that they will escape suffering: for
grievous suffering does await them [in the life to come].

[and] who remember God when they stand, and when they sit, and
when they lie down to sleep,146 and [thus] reflect on
the creation of the heavens and the earth: "O our Sustainer! Thou
hast not created [aught of] this without meaning and
purpose.147 Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! Keep us
safe, then, from suffering through fire!

"O our Sustainer! Behold, we heard a voice149 call [us]
unto faith, 'Believe in your Sustainer!' - and so we came to
believe. O our Sustainer! Forgive us, then, our sins, and efface
our bad deeds; and let us die the death of the truly virtuous!

And thus does their Sustainer answer their prayer: "I shall not
lose sight of the labour of any of you who labours [in My way],
be it man or woman: each of you is an issue of the
other.150 Hence, as for those who forsake the domain of
evil,151 and are driven from the homelands, and suffer
hurt in My cause, and fight [for it], and are slain - I shall
most certainly efface their bad deeds, and shall most certainly
bring them into gardens through which running waters flow, as a
reward from God: for with God is the most beauteous of rewards."

Do not be deceived by the unbelievers and Be patient and excel in patience

whereas those who remain conscious of their Sustainer shall have
gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide: a
ready welcome from God. And that which is with God is best for
the truly virtuous.

And, behold, among the followers of earlier revelation there are
indeed such as [truly] believe in God, and in that which has been
bestowed from on high upon you as well as in that which has been
bestowed upon them. Standing in awe of God, they do not barter
away God's messages for a trifling gain. They shall have their
reward with their Sustainer - for, behold, God is swift in
reckoning!

O you who have attained to faith! Be patient in adversity, and
vie in patience with one another, and be ever ready [to do what
is right], and remain conscious of God, so that you might attain
to a happy state!

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Ayah_translation Comments

Note - 1

See Appendix II.

ASD

Note - 2

The gradualness of the Qur'anic revelation is stressed
here by means of the grammatical form nazzala.

ASD

Note - 3

Most of the commentators are of the opinion that ma bayna
yadayhi - lit., "that which is between its hands" -
denotes here "the revelations which came before it",
i.e., before the Qur'an. This interpretation is not,
however, entirely convincing. Although there is not the
least doubt that in this context the pronominal ma refers
to earlier revelations, and particularly the Bible (as is
evident from the parallel use of the above expression in
other Qur'anic passages), the idiomatic phrase ma bayna
yadayhi does not, in itself, mean "that which came before
it" - i.e., in time - but, rather (as pointed out by me
in surah {2}, note [247]), "that which lies open before
it". Since, however, the pronoun "it" relates here to the
Qur'an, the metaphorical expression "between its hands"
or "before it" cannot possibly refer to "knowledge" (as
it does in 2:255), but must obviously refer to an
objective reality with which the Qur'an is "confronted":
that is, something that was coexistent in time with the
revelation of the Qur'an. Now this, taken together (a)
with the fact - frequently stressed in the Qur'an and
since established by objective scholarship - that in the
course of the millennia the Bible has been subjected to
considerable and often arbitrary alteration, and (b) with
the fact that many of the laws enunciated in the Qur'an
differ from the laws of the Bible, brings us forcibly to
the conclusion that the "confirmation" of the latter by
the Qur'an can refer only to the basic truths still
discernible in the Bible, and not to its time-bound
legislation or to its present text - in other words, a
confirmation of whatever was extant of its basic
teachings at the time of the revelation of the Qur'an:
and it is this that the phrase ma bayna yadayhi expresses
in this context as well as in 5:46 and {48} or in
61:6 (where it refers to Jesus' confirming the truth of
"whatever there still remained [i.e., in his lifetime] of
the Torah").

ASD

Note - 4

It is to be borne in mind that the Gospel frequently
mentioned in the Qur'an is not identical with what is
known today as the Four Gospels, but refers to an
original, since lost, revelation bestowed upon Jesus and
known to his contemporaries under its Greek name of
Evangelion ("Good Tiding"), on which the Arabicized form
Injil is based. It was probably the source from which the
Synoptic Gospels derived much of their material and some
of the teachings attributed to Jesus. The fact of its
having been lost and forgotten is alluded to in the
Qur'an in 5:14. Regarding my rendering of al-furqan as
"the standard by which to discern the true from the
false", see also note [38] on the identical phrase
occurring in 2:53.

ASD

Note - 5

The above passage may be regarded as a key to the
understanding of the Qur'an. Tabari identifies the ayat
muhkamat ("messages that are clear in and by themselves")
with what the philologists and jurists describe as nass -
namely, ordinances or statements which are self-evident
(zahir) by virtue of their wording (cf. Lisan al-'Arab,
art. nass). Consequently, Tabari regards as ayat muhkamat
only those statements or ordinances of the Qur'an which
do not admit of more than one interpretation (which does
not, of course, preclude differences of opinion regarding
the implications of a particular ayah muhkamah). In my
opinion, however, it would be too dogmatic to regard any
passage of the Qur'an which does not conform to the above
definition as mutashabih ("allegorical"): for there are
many statements in the Qur'an which are liable to more
than one interpretation but are, nevertheless, not
allegorical - just as there are many expressions and
passages which, despite their allegorical formulation,
reveal to the searching intellect only one possible
meaning. For this reason, the ayat mutashabihat may be
defined as those passages of the Qur'an which are
expressed in a figurative manner, with a meaning that is
metaphorically implied but not directly, in so many
words, stated. The ayat muhkamat are described as the
"essence of the divine writ" (umm al-kitab) because they
comprise the fundamental principles underlying its
message and, in particular, its ethical and social
teachings: and it is only on the basis of these clearly
enunciated principles that the allegorical passages can
be correctly interpreted. (For a more detailed discussion
of symbolism and allegory in the Qur'an, see Appendix I.)

ASD

Note - 6

Lit., "that of it".

ASD

Note - 7

The "confusion" referred to here is a consequence of
interpreting allegorical passages in an "arbitrary
manner" (Zamakhshari).

ASD

Note - 8

According to most of the early commentators, this refers
to the interpretation of allegorical passages which deal
with metaphysical subjects - for instance, God's
attributes, the ultimate meaning of time and eternity,
the resurrection of the dead, the Day of Judgment,
paradise and hell, the nature of the beings or forces
described as angels, and so forth - all of which fall
within the category of al-ghayb, i.e., that sector of
reality which is beyond the reach of human perception and
imagination and cannot, therefore, be conveyed to man in
other than allegorical terms. This view of the classical
commentators, however, does not seem to take into account
the many Qur'anic passages which do not deal with
metaphysical subjects and yet are, undoubtedly,
allegorical in intent and expression. To my mind, one
cannot arrive at a correct understanding of the above
passage without paying due attention to the nature and
function of allegory as such. A true allegory - in
contrast with a mere pictorial paraphrase of something
that could equally well be stated in direct terms - is
always meant to express in a figurative manner something
which, because of its complexity, cannot be adequately
expressed in direct terms or propositions and, because of
this very complexity, can be grasped only intuitively, as
a general mental image, and not as a series of detailed
"statements": and this seems to be the meaning of the
phrase, "none save God knows its final meaning".

ASD

Note - 9

It is generally assumed that this is an allusion to the
battle of Badr, in the third week of Ramadan, 2 H., in
which three hundred and odd poorly-equipped Muslims, led
by the Prophet, utterly routed a well-armed Meccan force
numbering nearly one thousand men, seven hundred camels
and one hundred horses; it was the first open battle
between the pagan Quraysh and the young Muslim community
of Medina. According to some commentators, however (e.g.,
Manar III, 234), the above Qur'anic passage has a general
import and alludes to an occurrence often witnessed in
history - namely, the victory of a numerically weak and
ill-equipped group of people, filled with a burning
belief in the righteousness of their cause, over a
materially and numerically superior enemy lacking a
similar conviction. The fact that in this Qur'an-verse
the believers are spoken of as being faced by an enemy
"twice their number" (while at the battle of Badr the
pagan Quraysh were more than three times the number of
the Muslims) lends great plausibility to this explanation
- and particularly so in view of the allusion, in the
next verse, to material riches and worldly power.

ASD

Note - 10

The expression bi'l-ashar is usually taken to mean "at
the times before daybreak", or simply "before daybreak".
This is in agreement with the Prophet's recommendation to
his followers (forthcoming from several authentic
Traditions) to devote the latter part of the night, and
particularly the time shortly before dawn, to intensive
prayer. But while the word sahar (also spelled sahr and
suhr), of which ashar is the plural, undoubtedly denotes
"the time before daybreak", it also signifies - in the
spellings sahar and suhr - "the core of the heart", "the
inner part of the heart", or simply "heart" (cf. Lisan
al-'Arab; also Lane IV, 1316). It seems to me that in the
context of the above Qur'an-verse - as well as of 51:18
- this latter rendering is preferable to the conventional
one: for, although the value of praying before daybreak
has undoubtedly been stressed by the Prophet, it is not
very plausible that the Qur'an should have tied the
prayer for forgiveness to a particular time of day.

ASD

Note - 12

Most of the classical commentators are of the opinion
that the people referred to are the followers of the
Bible, or of parts of it - i.e., the Jews and the
Christians. It is, however, highly probable that this
passage bears a wider import and relates to all
communities which base their views on a revealed
scripture, extant in a partially corrupted form, with
parts of it entirely lost.

ASD

Note - 11

Footnotes not available.

Note - 13

I.e., all these communities at first subscribed to the
doctrine of God's oneness and held that man's
self-surrender to Him (islam in its original connotation)
is the essence of all true religion. Their subsequent
divergencies were an outcome of sectarian pride and
mutual exclusiveness.

ASD

Note - 14

According to Razi, this refers to people who have no
revealed scripture of their own.

ASD

Note - 15

See surah {2}, note [48].

ASD

Note - 16

Lit., "decide [all disputes] between them" - the
reference being to the Torah.

ASD

Note - 17

Note - 18

Lit., "that which they were wont to invent has deluded
them in their faith".

ASD

Note - 19

I.e., in cases where the interests of those "deniers of
the truth" clash with the interests of believers (Manar
III, 278). Regarding the deeper implications of the term
"allies" (awliya'), see 4:139 and the corresponding
note.

ASD

Note - 20

Lit., "unless you fear from them something that is to be
feared". Zamakhshari explains this phrase as meaning,
"unless you have reason to fear that they might do
something which ought to be guarded against" - obviously
referring to situations in which "those who deny the
truth" are more powerful than the Muslims, and are
therefore in a position to damage the latter unless they
become their "allies" in a political or moral sense.

ASD

Note - 21

Lit., "breasts". This is a reference to the real motives
underlying the decision of a Muslim group or power to
form an alliance with "those who deny the truth" in
preference to, or against the legitimate interests of,
other believers.

ASD

Note - 22

Lit., "offspring of one another" - an allusion not merely
to the physical descent of those prophets but also to the
fact that all of them were spiritually linked with one
another and believed in one and the same fundamental
truth (Tabari). Thus, the above passage is a logical
sequence to verses {31-32}, which make God's approval
contingent upon obedience to His chosen message-bearers.
The names which appear in this sentence circumscribe, by
implication, all the prophets mentioned in the Qur'an
inasmuch as most of them were descendants of two or more
of these patriarchs. The House of 'Imran comprises Moses
and Aaron, whose father was 'Imran (the Amram of the
Bible), and Aaron's descendants, the priestly caste among
the Israelites - thus including John the Baptist, both of
whose parents were of the same descent (cf. the
reference, in Luke i, 5, to John's mother Elisabeth as
one "of the daughters of Aaron"), as well as Jesus, whose
mother Mary - a close relation of John - is spoken of
elsewhere in the Qur'an (19:28) as a "sister of Aaron":
in both cases embodying the ancient Semitic custom of
linking a person's or a people's name with that of an
illustrious forebear. The reference to the House of
'Imran serves as an introduction to the stories of
Zachariah, John, Mary, and Jesus.

ASD

Note - 23

My joining of this phrase with the following passage is
in agreement with the interpretation advanced by Muhammad
'Abduh and Rashid Rida' (Manar III, 289).

ASD

Note - 24

Lit., "to her" - implying that it was a girl.

ASD

Note - 25

Lit., "and the male is not [or "could not be"] like the
female". Zamakhshari reads these words as forming part of
the parenthetic sentence relating to God's knowledge, and
explains them thus: "The male [child] which she had
prayed for could not have been like the female which she
was granted" - which implies that Mary's excellence would
go far beyond any hopes which her mother had ever
entertained.

ASD

Note - 26

As is evident from verse {44} of this surah, the
guardianship of Mary was entrusted to Zachariah - who was
not only her relative but also a priest attached to the
Temple - after lots had been drawn to decide which of the
priests should have the responsibility for this girl who,
in consequence of her mother's vow, was to be dedicated
to Temple service (Tabari).

ASD

Note - 27

In spite of all the legends quoted in this connection by
most of the commentators, there is no indication
whatsoever either in the Qur'an or in any authentic
Tradition that these provisions were of a miraculous
origin. On the other hand, Tabari quotes a story to the
effect that when, in his old age, Zachariah became unable
to support Mary by his own means, the community decided
to assume this responsibility through another of its
members, who thereupon provided her daily with food.
Whether this story is authentic or not, Mary's answer to
Zachariah reflects no more and no less than her deep
consciousness of God as the ultimate Provider.

ASD

Note - 28

In view of the fact that the expression kalimah if often
used in the Qur'an to denote an announcement from God, or
a statement of His will, or His promise (e.g., 4:171,
6:34 and {115}, 10:64, 18:27, and so forth), we
must conclude that in the above passage, too, the "word
from God" which would be confirmed by the birth of John
(described in the Gospels as "John the Baptist") refers
to a divine promise given through revelation: and this,
indeed, is the interpretation adopted by the famous
philologist Abu'Ubaydah Ma'mar ibn al-Muthanna, who lived
in the second century H. and devoted most of his labours
to the study of rare expressions in the Arabic language;
his identification, in the context under discussion, of
kalimah with kitab ("revelation" or "divine writ") has
been quoted by Razi in his commentary on this verse and
is, moreover, agreeable with a similar announcement
conveyed to Mary regarding the birth of Jesus (see verse
{45} of this surah).

ASD

Note - 29

According to Abu Muslim (quoted with approval by Razi),
Zachariah was merely enjoined not to speak to anyone
during the period of three days, and not struck dumb as
in the New Testament narrative (Luke i, 20-22): thus the
"sign" was purely spiritual, and was to consist in
Zachariah's utter self-abandonment to prayer and
contemplation.

ASD

Note - 30

This parenthetic passage, addressed to the Prophet, is
meant to stress the fact that the story of Mary, as
narrated in the Qur'an, is a direct outcome of revelation
and, therefore, inherently true in spite of all the
differences between this account and that given in the
scriptures regarded by the Christians as authentic
(Muhammad 'Abduh in Manar III, 301 f.).

ASD

Note - 31

See note [26] above. The phrase rendered above as "they
drew lots" reads literally, "they cast their reeds" -
obviously a reference to an ancient Semitic custom,
perhaps similar to the divination by means of blunt
arrows practiced by the pre-Islamic Arabs and
comprehensively described in Lane III, 1247. The pronoun
"they" relates to the priests, of whom Zachariah was one.

ASD

Note - 32

Lit., "whose name shall be 'the Anointed' (al-masih)".
The designation al-masih is the Arabicized form of the
Aramaic meshiha which, in turn, is derived from the
Hebrew mahsiah, "the anointed" - a term frequently
applied in the Bible to the Hebrew kings, whose accession
to power used to be consecrated by a touch with holy oil
taken from the Temple. This anointment appears to have
been so important a rite among the Hebrews that the term
"the anointed" became in the course of time more or less
synonymous with "king". Its application to Jesus may have
been due to the widespread conviction among his
contemporaries (references to which are found in several
places in the Synoptic Gospels) that he was descended in
direct - and obviously legitimate - line from the royal
House of David. (It is to be noted that this could not
have related to his mother's side, because Mary belonged
to the priestly class descending from Aaron, and thus to
the tribe of Levi, while David descended from the tribe
of Judah.) Whatever may have been the historical
circumstances, it is evident that the honorific "the
Anointed" was applied to Jesus in his own lifetime. In
the Greek version of the Gospels - which is undoubtedly
based on a now-lost Aramaic original - this designation
is correctly translated as Christos (a noun derived from
the Greek verb chriein, "to anoint"): and since it is in
this form - "the Christ" - that the designation al-masih
has achieved currency in all Western languages, I am
using it throughout in my translation.

ASD

Note - 33

A metaphorical allusion to the prophetic wisdom which was
to inspire Jesus from a very early age. As regards the
expression min al-muqarrabin ("of those who are drawn
near", i.e., unto God), see 56:11, where the most
excellent among the inmates of paradise are thus
described.

ASD

Note - 34

See {19:16-22} and the corresponding notes. In the
context of the story of Mary in Al 'Imran, the
announcement made to her, as well as the parallel one to
Zachariah (verses {39-40} above), is meant to stress
God's unlimited power of creation - specifically, in both
cases, His power to create the circumstances in which His
will is to manifest itself - and thus to bring about any
event, however unexpected or even improbable it might
seem at the time of the announcement.

ASD

Note - 35

Lit., "to him".

ASD

Note - 36

The passage which follows here - up to the end of verse
{51} - may be understood in either of two ways: as part
of the announcement made to Mary (implying that he would
thus speak in the future) or, alternatively, as a
statement of what, at a later time, he actually did say
to the children of Israel. In view of the narrative form
adopted in verses {52} ff., the second of these two
alternatives seems preferable.

ASD

Note - 37

Lit., "[something] like the shape of a bird (tayr); and
then I shall breathe into it, so that it might [or
"whereupon it will"] become a bird...". The noun tayr is
a plural of ta'ir ("flying creature" or "bird"), or an
infinitive noun ("flying") derived from the verb tara
("he flew"). In pre-Islamic usage, as well as in the
Qur'an, the words ta'ir and tayr often denote "fortune"
or "destiny", whether good or evil (as, for instance, in
7:131, 27:47 or 36:19, and still more clearly in
17:13). Many instances of this idiomatic use of tayr
and ta'ir are given in all the authoritative Arabic
dictionaries; see also Lane V, 1904 f. Thus, in the
parabolic manner so beloved by him, Jesus intimated to
the children of Israel that out of the humble clay of
their lives he would fashion for them the vision of a
soaring destiny, and that this vision, brought to life by
his God-given inspiration, would become their real
destiny by God's leave and by the strength of their faith
(as pointed out at the end of this verse).

ASD

Note - 38

It is probable that the "raising of the dead" by Jesus is
a metaphorical description of his giving new life to
people who were spiritually dead; cf. 6:122 - "Is then
he who was dead [in spirit], and whom We thereupon gave
life, and for whom We set up a light whereby he can see
his way among men - [is then he] like unto one [who is
lost] in darkness deep, out of which he cannot emerge?"
If this interpretation is - as I believe-correct, then
the "healing of the blind and the leper" has a similar
significance: namely, an inner regeneration of people who
were spiritually diseased and blind to the truth.

ASD

Note - 39

I.e., "what good things you may partake of in the life of
this world, and what good deeds you should lay up as a
treasure for the life to come".

ASD

Note - 40

Lit., "whatever there is between my hands": for an
explanation, see note [3] on verse {3} of this surah.

ASD

Note - 41

This relates to a later time, when Jesus was being
opposed by the majority of his people, and particularly
the Pharisees.

ASD

Note - 42

Al-hawariyyun (sing. hawari) is the designation applied
in the Qur'an to the disciples of Jesus. Many
interpretations of this term (derived from ,hawar,
"whiteness") are given by the commentators, ranging from
"one who whitens clothes by washing them" (because this
was allegedly the occupation of some of Jesus' disciples)
to "one who wears white garments", or "one whose heart is
white", i.e., pure (cf. Tabari, Razi, Ibn Kathir). It is,
however, most probable - and the evidence provided by the
recently discovered Dead Sea Scrolls strongly supports
this view - that the term hawari was popularly used to
denote a member of the Essene Brotherhood, a Jewish
religious group which existed in Palestine at the time of
Jesus, and to which, possibly, he himself belonged. The
Essenes were distinguished by their strong insistence on
moral purity and unselfish conduct, and always wore white
garments as the outward mark of their convictions; and
this would satisfactorily explain the name given to them.
The fact that the Prophet once said, "Every prophet has
his hawari" (Bukhari and Muslim) does not conflict with
the above view, since he obviously used this term
figuratively, recalling thereby Jesus' "helpers in God's
cause".

ASD

Note - 43

Lit., "write us down" or "inscribe us". It must, however,
be borne in mind that the verb kataba means also "he drew
together" or "brought together": hence the noun katibah,
"a body of men".

ASD

Note - 44

Lit., "they schemed" - here referring to those among the
Jews who refused to acknowledge Jesus as a prophet and
tried to destroy him.

ASD

Note - 45

This refers to all who revere Jesus (i.e., the
Christians, who believe him to be "the son of God", and
the Muslims, who regard him as a prophet) as well as to
those who deny him altogether. Regarding God's promise to
Jesus, "I shall exalt thee unto Me", see surah {4}, note
[172].

ASD

Note - 46

Lit., "This We convey unto thee of the messages and of
the wise tiding." The expression "this of the messages"
bears, to my mind, the connotation of one particular
message - namely, the one which follows immediately after
this sentence.

ASD

Note - 47

Lit., "The parable of Jesus is as the parable of
Adam...", etc. The expression mathal (rendered above as
"nature") is often metaphorically employed to denote the
state or condition (of a person or a thing), and is in
this sense - as the commentators have pointed out -
synonymous with sifah (the "quality" or "nature" of a
thing). As is evident from the sequence, the above
passage is part of an argument against the Christian
doctrine of the divinity of Jesus. The Qur'an stresses
here as in many other places, the fact that Jesus, like
Adam - by which name, in this context, the whole human
race is meant - was only a mortal "created out of dust",
i.e., out of substances, both organic and inorganic,
which are found in their elementary forms on and in the
earth. Cf. also 18:3722:5, 30:20, 35:11,
40:67, where the Qur'an speaks of all human beings as
"created out of dust". That "Adam" stands here for the
human race is clearly implied in the use of the present
tense in the last word of this sentence.

ASD

Note - 48

I.e., regarding the true nature of Jesus. According to
all the reliable authorities, verses {59-63} of this
surah were revealed in the year 10 H., on the occasion of
a dispute between the Prophet and a deputation of the
Christians of Najran who, like all other Christians,
maintained that Jesus was "the son of God" and,
therefore, God incarnate. Although they refused the
"trial through prayer" (mubahalah) proposed to them by
the Prophet, the latter accorded to them a treaty
guaranteeing all their civic rights and the free exercise
of their religion.

ASD

Note - 49

Lit., "a word [that is] equitable between you and us".
The term kalimah, primarily meaning "word" or
"utterance", is often used in the philosophical sense of
"proposition" or "tenet".

ASD

Note - 50

Lit., "that we shall not take one another for lords
beside God". Since the personal pronoun "we" obviously
applies to human beings, the expression "one another"
necessarily bears the same connotation. In its wider
implication, the above call is addressed not merely to
the Christians, who attribute divinity to Jesus and
certain aspects of divinity to their saints, but also to
the Jews, who assign a quasi-divine authority to Ezra and
even to some of their great Talmudic scholars (cf.
{9:30-31}).

ASD

Note - 51

I.e., as to whether the principles he followed were those
of the Jewish faith, according to which the Torah is
considered to be the final Law of God, or of the
Christian faith, which conflicts with the former in many
respects.

ASD

Note - 52

I.e., as to what was the true creed of Abraham. "That
which is known to you" is an allusion to their knowledge
of the obvious fact that many of the teachings based on
the extant versions of the Torah and the Gospels conflict
with the teachings of the Qur'an (Razi).

ASD

Note - 53

Lit., "when you [yourselves] bear witness": an allusion
to the Biblical prophecies relating to the coming of the
Prophet Muhammad.

ASD

Note - 54

Most of the commentators, relying on views current among
some of the tabi'un (i.e., the generation that came after
the Companions of the Prophet), understand this passage
thus: "Declare at the beginning of the day your belief in
what has been revealed unto those who believe in
Muhammad, and deny the truth [thereof] in its latter
part." This rendering would imply that the
Judaeo-Christian attempts at confusing the Muslims, to
which the above verse refers, consisted in alternatingly
declaring belief and disbelief in the Qur'anic message.
On the other hand, the rendering adopted by me (and
supported by Al-Asam, whose interpretation has been
quoted by Razi in his commentary on this verse) implies
that some Jews and Christians have been and are hoping to
achieve this end by admitting, however reluctantly, that
there may be "some truth" in the early Qur'anic
revelations ("that which has been revealed at the
beginning of the day"), while they categorically reject
its later parts inasmuch as they clearly contradict
certain Biblical teachings.

ASD

Note - 55

This refers to the Jews and the Christians, who are not
prepared to accept the Qur'anic message on the ground
that it conflicts with parts of their own scriptures.

ASD

Note - 56

In this context, the term fadl ("bounty") is synonymous
with the bestowal of divine revelation.

ASD

Note - 57

Lit., "this, because they say". In Arabic usage, the verb
qala (lit., "he said") often signifies "he asserted" or
"expressed an opinion". As is evident from many
Traditions, the people referred to are the Jews.

ASD

Note - 58

I.e., they falsely claim that God Himself has exempted
them from all moral responsibility towards non-Jews
(contemptuously described as "unlettered folk"), knowing
well that their own scriptures provide no basis whatever
for such a claim.

ASD

Note - 59

Some of the commentators relate the personal pronoun in
'ahdihi to the person or persons concerned, and therefore
take 'ahd as meaning "promise" - thus: "[as for] him who
fulfils his promise...", etc. It is, however, obvious
from the next verse that the pronoun in 'ahdihi refers to
God; consequently, the phrase must be rendered either as
"those who fulfil their duty towards Him", or "those who
keep their bond with Him" - the latter being, in my
opinion, preferable. (For the meaning of man's "bond with
God", see surah {2}, note [19].)

ASD

Note - 60

Most of the commentators assume that this refers
specifically to the Jews, whom the Qur'an frequently
accuses of having deliberately corrupted the Old
Testament. However, since the next two verses clearly
relate to Jesus and to the false beliefs of the
Christians regarding his nature and mission, we must
conclude that both Jews and Christians are referred to in
this passage. For this reason, the term al-kitab, which
occurs three times in this sentence, has been rendered
here as "the Bible". - According to Muhammad 'Abduh
(Manar III, 345), the above-mentioned distortion of the
Bible does not necessarily presuppose a corruption of the
text as such: it can also be brought about "by
attributing to an expression a meaning other than the one
which was originally intended". As an example, 'Abduh
quotes the metaphorical use, in the Gospels, of the term
"my Father" with reference to God - by which term, as is
evident from the Lord's Prayer, was obviously meant the
"Father" - i.e., the Originator and Sustainer - of all
mankind. Subsequently, however, some of those who claimed
to be followers of Jesus lifted this expression from the
realm of metaphor and "transferred it to the realm of
positive reality with reference to Jesus alone": and thus
they gave currency to the idea that he was literally "the
son of God", that is, God incarnate.

ASD

Note - 61

This obvious reference to Jesus reads, literally, "It is
not [possible] for a human being that God should grant
him...and that thereafter he should say...". Zamakhshari
regards the term hukm ("judgment" or "sound judgment")
occurring in the above sentence as synonymous, in this
context, with ,hikmah ("wisdom").

ASD

Note - 62

According to Sibawayh (as quoted by Razi), a rabbani is
"one who devotes himself exclusively to the endeavour to
know the Sustainer (ar-rabb) and to obey Him": a
connotation fairly close to the English expression "a man
of God".

ASD

Note - 63

I.e., to attribute divine or semi-divine powers to them:
a categorical rejection of the adoration of saints and
angelic beings.

ASD

Note - 64

Lit., "the solemn pledge of the prophets". Zamakhshari
holds that what is meant here is a pledge taken from the
community as a whole: a pledge consisting in their
acceptance of the messages conveyed through the prophets.

ASD

Note - 65

Lit., "and I am with you among the witnesses".

ASD

Note - 66

Lit., "[any] other than God's religion".

ASD

Note - 67

Lit., "will be returned". For an explanation of this
sentence, see 13:15 and the corresponding notes.

ASD

Note - 68

Note - 69

The people referred to are the Jews and the Christians.
Their acceptance of the Bible, which predicts the coming
of the Prophet Muhammad, has made them "witnesses" to the
truth of his prophethood. See also verses {70} and {81}
above.

ASD

Note - 70

My interpolation, between brackets, of the words "of
other sins" is based on Tabari's convincing explanation
of this passage.

ASD

Note - 71

Lit., "there shall not be accepted from any of them the
earth full of gold, were he to proffer it in ransom". The
meaning of this sentence is obviously metaphorical; but
in view of the mention of "ransom", some of the
commentators are of the opinion that what is meant here
are otherwise good actions in this world (and, in
particular, efforts and possessions spent for the sake of
helping one's fellow-men), on the strength of which such
stubborn "deniers of the truth" might plead for God's
clemency on the Day of Judgment - a plea that would be
rejected on the ground of their deliberate denial of
fundamental truths.

ASD

Note - 72

After telling those who deliberately deny the truth that
even their benevolent spending of efforts and possessions
during their lifetime will be of no avail to them on the
Day of Judgment, the Qur'an reminds the believers that,
on the other hand, their faith in God cannot be
considered complete unless it makes them conscious of the
material needs of their fellow-beings (cf. 2:177).

ASD

Note - 73

Up to this point, most of this surah dealt with the
divine origin of the Qur'an and was meant to establish
the true nature of the mission entrusted to the Prophet -
namely, his call to an acknowledgement of God's oneness
and uniqueness. Now, verses {93-97} are devoted to a
refutation of two objections on the part of the Jews to
what they consider to be an infringement, by the Qur'an,
of Biblical laws, in spite of the oft-repeated Qur'anic
claim that this revelation confirms the truth inherent in
the teachings of the earlier prophets. These two
objections relate to (a) the Qur'anic annulment of
certain dietary injunctions and prohibitions laid down in
the Torah, and (b) the alleged "substitution" of Mecca
for Jerusalem as the direction of prayer (qiblah) - see
surah {2}, note [116]. In order to answer the objection
relating to Jewish food laws, the Qur'an calls to mind
that originally all wholesome foods were lawful to the
children of Israel, and that the severe restrictions
subsequently imposed upon them in the Torah were but a
punishment for their sins (cf. 6:146), and were,
therefore, never intended for a community that truly
surrenders itself to God. For an answer to the second
objection, see verse {96}.

ASD

Note - 74

This is a reference to the unwarranted Jewish belief that
the Mosaic food restrictions were an eternal law decreed
by God. As against this claim, the Qur'an stresses that
no food restrictions had been imposed before the time of
Moses and, secondly, that the restrictions arising from
the Mosaic Law were imposed on the children of Israel
alone. To claim that they represent an eternal divine law
is described here as "inventing lies about God".

ASD

Note - 75

All authorities agree that this name is syronymous with
Mecca (which, correctly transliterated, is spelt Makkah).
Various etymologies have been suggested for this very
ancient designation; but the most plausible explanation
is given by Zamakhshari (and supported by Razi): in some
old Arabic dialects the labial consonants b and m, being
phonetically close to one another, are occasionally
interchangeable. The mention, in this context, of the
Temple in Mecca - that is, the Ka'bah - arises from the
fact that it is the direction of prayer (qiblah)
stipulated in the Qur'an. Since the prototype of the
Ka'bah was built by Abraham and Ishmael (see 2:125 ff.)
- and is, therefore, much older than the Temple of
Solomon in Jerusalem - its establishment as the qiblah of
the followers of the Quran does not only not imply any
break with the Abrahamic tradition (on which, ultimately,
the whole Bible rests), but, on the contrary,
re-establishes the direct contact with that Patriarch:
and herein lies the answer to the second of the two
Jewish objections mentioned in note [73] above.

ASD

Note - 76

Lit., "in it [are] clear messages" - such as the messages
relating to God's oneness and uniqueness (symbolized by
the Ka'bah), to the continuity of mankind's religious
experience ("the first Temple set up for mankind") and,
finally, to the brotherhood of all believers (who,
wherever they may be, turn their faces in prayer towards
this one focal point).

ASD

Note - 77

Or: "is secure" - i.e., in the original sense of amn,
which implies "ease of mind and freedom from fear" (cf.
Lane I, 100 f.).

ASD

Note - 78

I.e., "through your own scriptures" (see note [69] above,
as well as note [33] on 2:42). This is an allusion to
the attempts of Jews and Christians to "prove" that
Muhammad had "borrowed" the main ideas of the Qur'an from
the Bible and twisted them out of context so as to suit
his own alleged "ambitions".

ASD

Note - 79

Lit., "a pit of fire" - a metaphor of the sufferings
which are the inescapable consequence of spiritual
ignorance. The reminder of their one-time mutual enmity
is an allusion to man's lot on earth (cf. 2:36 and
7:24), from which only God's guidance can save him (see
{2:37-38}).

ASD

Note - 80

I.e., like the followers of the Bible, who became "Jews"
and "Christians" in spite of the fact that their beliefs
have a common source and are based on the same spiritual
truths (see also 6:159 and the corresponding note).

ASD

Note - 81

Lit., "to the worlds". For an explanation of this
sentence, see {6:131-132} and note [117].

ASD

Note - 82

As is obvious from the opening sentence of verse {110},
this promise to the followers of the Qur'an is
conditional upon their being, or remaining, a community
of people who "enjoin the doing of what is right and
forbid the doing of what is wrong, and [truly] believe in
God"; and - as history has shown - this promise is bound
to lapse whenever the Muslims fail to live up to their
faith.

ASD

Note - 83

I.e., if they return to the concept of God as the Lord
and Sustainer of all mankind, and give up the idea of
being "God's chosen people" which creates a barrier
between them and all other believers in the One God.

ASD

Note - 84

The above passage - as the very similar one in 2:61 -
relates specifically to the children of Israel, although
this section as a whole (verses {110-115}) obviously
refers to the followers of the Bible in general, that is,
to both the Jews and the Christians.

ASD

Note - 85

Lit., "an upright community": a reference to those among
the followers of the Bible who are truly believers (cf.
the last sentence of verse {110} above) and observe the
"bond with God and with men" (verse {112}).

ASD

Note - 86

In a marginal note connected with his commentary on this
verse, Zamakhshari explains this parable thus: "If the
'filth' [i.e., the gainful achievement] of those who deny
the truth is lost, it is lost in its entirety, with
nothing remaining to them in this world and in the life
to come; while, on the other hand, the 'filth' of a
believer is never lost in its entirety: for even if it is
seemingly lost, there remains to him the expectation of a
reward, in the life to come, for his patience in
adversity." In other words, the above Qur'anic phrase is
meant to stress the completeness of loss of all efforts
in the case of those who are bent on denying the truth.

ASD

Note - 87

Lit., "from among others than yourselves". Some of the
commentators incline to the view that this expression
comprises all non-Muslims: but this view obviously
conflicts with {60:8-9}, where the believers are
expressly allowed to form friendships with such of the
non-believers as are not hostile to them and to their
faith. Moreover, the sequence makes it clear that by
"those who are not of your kind" are meant only people
whose enmity to Islam and its followers has become
apparent from their behaviour and their utterances
(Tabari). The rendering adopted by me, "people who are
not of your kind", implies that their outlook on life is
so fundamentally opposed to that of the Muslims that
genuine friendship is entirely out of the question.

ASD

Note - 88

Lit., "they love that which causes you distress".

ASD

Note - 89

I.e., including the revelation of the Bible.

ASD

Note - 91

I.e., the clans of Banu Salamah and Banu Harithah, who
had almost joined the deserters led by 'Abd Allah ibn
Ubayy (see preceding note).

ASD

Note - 90

Footnotes not available.

Note - 92

A reference to the battle of Badr, in 2 H., which is
dealt with extensively in surah {8}.

ASD

Note - 93

As is evident from the next verse, the Prophet's allusion
to God's aiding the believers with thousands of angels
signifies, metaphorically, a strengthening of the
believers' hearts through spiritual forces coming from
God (Manar IV, 112 ff., and IX, 612 ff.). A very similar
announcement - relating to the battle of Badr - occurs in
{8:9-10}, where "one thousand" angels are mentioned. As
regards these varying numbers (one, three and five
thousand), they would seem to indicate the unlimited
nature of God's aid to those who are "patient in
adversity and conscious of Him". It is reasonable to
assume that the Prophet thus exhorted his followers
immediately before the battle of Uhud, that is, after
three hundred men under the leadership of 'Abd Allah ibn
Ubayy had deserted him and some of the others "almost
lost heart" in the face of the greatly superior enemy
forces.

ASD

Note - 94

According to many commentators (see Manar IV, 112), this
interpolation is justified by the preceding two verses,
which show that it was the Prophet who, under divine
inspiration, made this promise to his followers. See also
8:9, where a similar promise is voiced on the occasion
of the battle of Badr.

ASD

Note - 95

Lit., "that He might destroy some...or [so] abase them".
It is obvious that the particle aw ("or") does not, in
this context, denote an alternative but, rather, a
specification (tanwi') - as, for instance, in the phrase
"ten persons were killed or injured": meaning that some
of them were killed and others injured.

ASD

Note - 96

As recorded in several authentic Traditions, the Prophet
invoked, during the battle of Uhud, God's curse upon the
leaders of the pagan Quraysh (Bukhari, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i
and Ahmad ibn Hanbal); and when he lay on the ground
severely injured, he exclaimed, "How could those people
prosper after having done this to their prophet, who but
invites them to [acknowledge] their Sustainer?"-whereupon
the above two verses were revealed (Muslim and Ibn
Hanbal).

ASD

Note - 97

For a definition of riba ("usury"), see note [35] on
30:39, the earliest Qur'anic reference to this term. As
for the connection of the above verse with the
subject-matter dealt with in the foregoing, the best
explanation is, to my mind, the one offered by Qiffal (as
quoted by Razi): Since it was mainly through usurious
gains that the pagan Meccans had acquired the wealth
which enabled them to equip their powerful army and
almost to defeat the poorly-armed Muslims at Uhud, the
latter might have been tempted to emulate their enemies
in this respect; and it was to remove this temptation -
from them as well as from later generations of believers
- that the prohibition of usury was once again stressed
through revelation.

ASD

Note - 98

The word sunnah (of which sunan is the plural) denotes a
"way of life" or "conduct" (hence its application, in
Islamic terminology, to the way of life of the Prophet as
an example for his followers). In the above passage, the
term sunan refers to the "conditions (ahwal)
characteristic of past centuries" (Razi), in which,
despite all the continuous changes, an ever-recurring
pattern can be discerned: a typically Qur'anic reference
to the possibility, and necessity, of learning from man's
past experiences.

ASD

Note - 99

A reference to the near-disaster at Uhud and the heavy
loss of lives (about seventy men) which the Muslims had
suffered.

ASD

Note - 100

Lit., "a wound" (qarh) or, according to some
philologists, "pain caused by a wound".

ASD

Note - 101

I.e., "His decision to let some of you die as martyrs in
His cause is not due to love of the sinful enemies who
oppose you, but to His love for you." The term shuhada'
(pl. of shahid) denotes "witnesses" as well as "martyrs".
The rendering adopted by me comprises both the concepts
of "bearing witness to the truth" and of "martyrdom" in
God's cause.

ASD

Note - 102

Lit., "while God has not yet taken cognizance of those of
you who have striven...and those who are patient in
adversity". Since God is all-knowing, His "not taking
cognizance" implies, of course, that the thing or
happening referred to has not come about or is
non-existent (Zamakhshari).

ASD

Note - 103

In Zamakhshari's opinion, this is a twofold reproach
addressed to the majority of the Companions who took part
in the battle of Uhud: firstly, on account of their
insistence, against the Prophet's advice, on giving
battle to the enemy in the open field and thereby
unnecessarily courting a deadly danger; and, secondly, on
account of their failure to live up to their faith during
the earlier part of the battle (see note [90] above).
This passage may have yet another, more positive
implication: namely, a reference to the lesson which the
believers should draw from their near-defeat, and a
reminder of the fact that their future depends on the
strength of their faith in God (cf. verse {139} above)
and not on a fleeting desire for self-sacrifice.

ASD

Note - 104

This stress on the mortality of the Prophet - and that of
all the other prophets who preceded him in time -
connects, in the first instance, with the battle of Uhud
and the rumour of his death, which caused many Muslims to
abandon the fight and even brought some of them close to
apostasy (Tabari; see also note [90] above). In its wider
implication, however, the above verse re-states the
fundamental Islamic doctrine that adoration is due to God
alone, and that no human being - not even a prophet - may
have any share in it. It was this very passage of the
Qur'an which Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, recited
immediately after the Prophet's death, when many
faint-hearted Muslims thought that Islam itself had come
to an end; but as soon as Abu Bakr added, "Behold,
whoever has worshipped Muhammad may know that Muhammad
has died; but whoever worships God may know that God is
ever-living, and never dies" (Bukhari), all confusion was
stilled. - The expression "turning about on one's heels"
denotes - according to circumstances - either actual
apostasy or a deliberate withdrawal from efforts in the
cause of God.

ASD

Note - 105

Lit., "He is the best of all who bring succour".

ASD

Note - 106

I.e., something which He never permits. The use of the
adverb "never" in my rendering is based on the
grammatical form lam yunazzil (lit., "He has not been
sending down" or "bestowing from on high"), which implies
continuity in time.

ASD

Note - 107

Lit., "when you were destroying them": a reference to the
opening stages of the battle of Uhud. Regarding the
promise alluded to, see verses {124-125} of this surah.

ASD

Note - 108

Lit., "you disagreed with one another regarding the
[Prophet's] command" - an allusion to the abandonment of
their post by most of the archers at the moment when it
seemed that victory had been won (see note [90] above).

ASD

Note - 109

Out of the fifty Muslim archers less than ten remained at
their post, and were killed by Khalid's cavalry. It is to
them, as well as the few Companions who went on fighting
after the bulk of the Muslims had fled, that the second
part of the above sentence refers.

ASD

Note - 110

Lit., "He turned you away from them".

ASD

Note - 111

I.e., the realization of how shamefully they had behaved
at Uhud (see note [90] above) would be, in the end, more
painful to them than the loss of victory and the death of
so many of their comrades: and this is the meaning of the
"test" mentioned in the preceding verse.

ASD

Note - 112

I.e., those who had remained steadfast throughout the
battle. According to some commentators - in particular
Raghib - the term nu'as (lit., "the drowsiness which
precedes sleep") is used here metaphorically, and denotes
"inner calm".

ASD

Note - 113

I.e., in the matter of victory or defeat. The "thoughts
of pagan ignorance" is obviously an allusion to the
initial reluctance of those faint-hearted people to admit
their moral responsibility for what had happened, and to
their excusing themselves by saying that their failure to
live up to their faith had been "predestined". See also
surah {5}, note [71].

ASD

Note - 114

I.e., while it is for God alone to apportion actual
success or failure to whomever He wills "nought shall be
accounted unto man but what he is [or "was"] striving
for" (53:39).

ASD

Note - 115

Lit., "we would not have been killed here".

ASD

Note - 116

Lit., "all that is in your hearts".

ASD

Note - 117

This is an illustration of a significant Qur'anic
doctrine, which can be thus summarized: "Satan's
influence" on man is not the primary cause of sin but its
first consequence: that is to say, a consequence of a
person's own attitude of mind which in moments of moral
crisis induces him to choose the easier, and seemingly
more pleasant, of the alternatives open to him, and thus
to become guilty of a sin, whether by commission or
omission. Thus, God's "causing" a person to commit a sin
is conditional upon the existence, in the individual
concerned, of an attitude of mind which makes him prone
to commit such a sin: which, in its turn, presupposes
man's free will - that is, the ability to make, within
certain limitations, a conscious choice between two or
more possible courses of action.

ASD

Note - 118

Lit., "when they travel on earth".

ASD

Note - 119

Lit., "so that God causes this to be": but since the
particle li in li-yaj'al is obviously a lam al-'aqibah
(i.e., the letter lam denoting a causal sequence), it is
best rendered in this context by the conjunctive particle
"and", combined with the future tense.

ASD

Note - 120

Lit., "they".

ASD

Note - 121

Lit., "with them" - i.e., with those of his followers who
had failed in their duty before and during the disaster
at Uhud. According to all available accounts, the Prophet
did not even reproach any of them for what they had done.

ASD

Note - 122

This injunction, implying government by consent and
council, must be regarded as one of the fundamental
clauses of all Qur'anic legislation relating to
statecraft. The pronoun "them" relates to the believers,
that is, to the whole community; while the word al-amr
occurring in this context - as well as in the much
earlier-revealed phrase amruhum shura baynahum in 42:38
- denotes all affairs of public concern, including state
administration. All authorities agree in that the above
ordinance, although addressed in the first instance to
the Prophet, is binding on all Muslims and for all times.
(For its wider implications see State and Government in
Islam, pp. 44 ff.) Some Muslim scholars conclude from the
wording of this ordinance that the leader of the
community, although obliged to take counsel, is
nevertheless free to accept or to reject it; but the
arbitrariness of this conclusion becomes obvious as soon
as we recall that even the Prophet considered himself
bound by the decisions of his council (see note [90]
above). Moreover, when he was asked - according to a
Tradition on the authority of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib - to
explain the implications of the word 'azm ("deciding upon
a course of action") which occurs in the above verse, the
Prophet replied, "[It means] taking counsel with
knowledgeable people (ahl ar-ra'y) and thereupon
following them [therein]" (see Ibn Kathir's commentary on
this verse).

ASD

Note - 123

I.e., by attributing his own opinions to God, and then
appealing to the believers to place their trust in Him
alone. However contrary to reason such deceit may be, it
is a common view among non-believers that the Prophet
himself "composed" the Qur'an and thereupon falsely
attributed it to divine revelation.

ASD

Note - 124

An allusion, in this case, to the Prophet Muhammad as
well as to prophets in general.

ASD

Note - 125

I.e., by falsely attributing his own views to God or
distorting His messages by arbitrary interpolations and
deliberate changes in the wording of a revelation - an
accusation often levelled in the Qur'an (e.g., 2:79 and
3:78) against the followers of earlier revelations.

ASD

Note - 126

I.e., at the battle of Badr, in the year 2 H.

ASD

Note - 127

Many of the followers of the Prophet had been convinced
that, whatever the circumstances, God would grant them
victory on account of their faith alone. The bitter
experience at Uhud came as a shock to them; and so the
Qur'an reminds them that this calamity was a consequence
of their own doings.

ASD

Note - 128

Only a fight in self-defence - in the widest meaning of
this term - can be considered a "fight in God's cause"
(see {2:190-194}, and the corresponding notes); and,
thus, the particle "or" between these two phrases is
almost synonymous with the expression "in other words".

ASD

Note - 129

This is an allusion to the three hundred men who, on the
way from Medina to Mount Uhud, forsook the Prophet on the
specious plea that he did not really intend to give
battle (see note [90] above). But since they knew in
their hearts that it would come to a fight, their
defection from God's cause almost amounted to a denial of
Him (kafr, here rendered as "apostasy").

ASD

Note - 130

Lit., "after injury had afflicted them". Most of the
commentators assume that this is an allusion to the
losses sustained by the Muslims at the battle of Uhud. It
is, however, probable that the implication is much wider,
the more so since this passage connects directly with the
preceding verses which speak, in general terms, of the
martyrs who die in God's cause. There is a distinct
tendency on the part of most of the classical
commentators to read minute historical references into
many Qur'anic passages which express ideas of a far wider
import and apply to the human condition as such. Verses
{172-175} are an instance of this. Some commentators are
of the opinion that they refer to the fruitless
expedition to Hamra'al-Asad on the day following the
battle of Uhud, while others see in it an allusion to the
Prophet's expedition, in the following year, known to
history as the "Little Badr" (Badr as-Sughra); others,
again, think that verse {172} refers to the former and
verses {173-174} to the latter. In view of this obvious
lack of unanimity - due to the absence of a really
authoritative support, either in the Qur'an itself or in
authentic Traditions, for any of these speculative
assumptions - there is every reason for concluding that
the whole passage under consideration expresses a general
moral, rounding off, as it were, the historical
references to the battle of Uhud and the lessons to be
drawn therefrom.

ASD

Note - 131

Lit., "those to whom people said".

ASD

Note - 132

I.e., the moral evil arising out of weakness of faith and
loss of courage: an allusion to what happened to many
Muslims at Uhud.

ASD

Note - 133

I.e., people who "ally themselves with Satan" by
deliberately doing wrong.

ASD

Note - 134

Lit., "that He will not assign to them a share".

ASD

Note - 135

This is an allusion to the doctrine of natural law (in
Qur'anic terminology, sunnat Allah, "God's way") to which
man's inclinations and actions - as well as all other
happenings in the universe - are subject. The above verse
says, as it were, "Since these people are bent on denying
the truth, Our giving them rein [that is, freedom of
choice and time for a reconsideration of their attitude]
will not work out for their benefit but will, on the
contrary, cause them to grow in false self-confidence
and, thus, in sinfulness." As in many similar passages in
the Qur'an, God attributes here their "growing in
sinfulness" to His own will because it is He who has
imposed on all His creation the natural law of cause and
effect. (See also note [4] on 14:4.)

ASD

Note - 136

Some commentators (e.g., Razi) assume that the expression
ma antum 'alayhi (lit., "that upon which you are")
denotes here "the condition in which you are" - i.e., the
state of weakness and confusion in which the Muslim
community found itself after the battle of Uhud - and
that, therefore, this passage is addressed to the
believers. This interpretation, however, is not
plausible. Apart from the fact that the believers are
here referred to in the third person. while ma antum
'alayhi is in the second person plural, the latter
expression denotes almost invariably, both in the Qur'an
and in the Traditions, people's mode of life and beliefs.
Moreover, we have reliable reports to the effect that Ibn
'Abbas, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak, Muqatil and Al-Kalbi
unhesitatingly declared that the people addressed here
are "those who deny the truth" to whom the preceding
passages refer (see Tabari's and Baghawi's commentaries
on this verse). Read in this sense, the above passage
implies that the believers would, in time, differ from
the unbelievers not only in their convictions but also in
their social aims and their manner of living.

ASD

Note - 137

I.e., it is through these apostles that God vouchsafes to
man a partial glimpse of the reality of which He alone
has full knowledge.

ASD

Note - 138

This is an allusion to the way of life of the unbelievers
mentioned in verse {179} above: a way of life
characterized by extreme attachment to the material
things of this world - a materialism based on a lack of
belief in anything that transcends the practical problems
of life.

ASD

Note - 139

According to several authentic Traditions, the Jews of
Medina were given to satirizing the phraseology of the
Qur'an, and especially 2:245 - "Who is it that will
offer up unto God a goodly loan, which He will amply
repay, with manifold increase?"

ASD

Note - 140

Regarding this accusation levelled against the Jews, see
surah {2}, note [48].

ASD

Note - 141

Lit., "with an offering which the fire consumes" -in
other words, unless he conforms to Mosaic Law, which
prescribes burnt offerings as an essential part of divine
services. Although this aspect of the Law had been left
in abeyance ever since the destruction of the Second
Temple in Jerusalem, the Jews of post-Talmudic times were
convinced that the Messiah promised to them would restore
the Mosaic rites in their entirety; and so they refused
to accept as a prophet anyone who did not conform to the
Law of the Torah in every detail.

ASD

Note - 142

At the time of the martyrdom of John the Baptist and of
Zachariah, of Jesus' exclamation, "O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets" (Matthew
xxiii, 37), and of the reference of Paul of Tarsus to the
Jews "who killed their own prophets" (I Thessalonians ii,
15), the Second Temple was still in existence, and burnt
offerings were a daily practice: thus, the refusal of the
Jews to accept the prophets alluded to, culminating in
their killing, could not be attributed to those prophets'
lack of conformity with Mosaic Law.

ASD

Note - 143

This connects with verses {183-184}, where the Jews are
spoken of as refusing to accept the message of the
Qur'an. The implication of verse {187} above is that the
advent of the Prophet Muhammad was predicted in both the
Old and New Testaments, and that the followers of the
Bible had been called upon to spread this prophecy and
not - as they actually have done - to suppress it.

ASD

Note - 144

Lit., "that which they are buying" - an allusion to the
belief of the Jews that they are "God's chosen people",
and to the conviction of the Christians that their belief
in Jesus' "vicarious atonement" automatically assures to
them salvation: the "bargain" being, in both cases, an
illusion of immunity in the life to come.

ASD

Note - 145

I.e., they have not, in spite of all their claims,
preserved the integrity of the Bible and of Abraham's
faith (Razi).

Note - 146

Note - 147

Note - 148

I.e., the suffering which a sinner will have to undergo
in the life to come will be a consequence of the
spiritual disgrace which he has already brought upon
himself by his actions in this world.

ASD

Note - 149

Lit., "a caller".

ASD

Note - 150

I.e., "you all are members of one and the same human
race, and therefore equal to one another".

ASD

Note - 151

See surah {2}, note [203], and surah {4}, note [124].

ASD

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1

See Appendix II.

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2

The gradualness of the Qur'anic revelation is stressed
here by means of the grammatical form nazzala.

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3

Most of the commentators are of the opinion that ma bayna
yadayhi - lit., "that which is between its hands" -
denotes here "the revelations which came before it",
i.e., before the Qur'an. This interpretation is not,
however, entirely convincing. Although there is not the
least doubt that in this context the pronominal ma refers
to earlier revelations, and particularly the Bible (as is
evident from the parallel use of the above expression in
other Qur'anic passages), the idiomatic phrase ma bayna
yadayhi does not, in itself, mean "that which came before
it" - i.e., in time - but, rather (as pointed out by me
in surah {2}, note [247]), "that which lies open before
it". Since, however, the pronoun "it" relates here to the
Qur'an, the metaphorical expression "between its hands"
or "before it" cannot possibly refer to "knowledge" (as
it does in 2:255), but must obviously refer to an
objective reality with which the Qur'an is "confronted":
that is, something that was coexistent in time with the
revelation of the Qur'an. Now this, taken together (a)
with the fact - frequently stressed in the Qur'an and
since established by objective scholarship - that in the
course of the millennia the Bible has been subjected to
considerable and often arbitrary alteration, and (b) with
the fact that many of the laws enunciated in the Qur'an
differ from the laws of the Bible, brings us forcibly to
the conclusion that the "confirmation" of the latter by
the Qur'an can refer only to the basic truths still
discernible in the Bible, and not to its time-bound
legislation or to its present text - in other words, a
confirmation of whatever was extant of its basic
teachings at the time of the revelation of the Qur'an:
and it is this that the phrase ma bayna yadayhi expresses
in this context as well as in 5:46 and {48} or in
61:6 (where it refers to Jesus' confirming the truth of
"whatever there still remained [i.e., in his lifetime] of
the Torah").

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4

It is to be borne in mind that the Gospel frequently
mentioned in the Qur'an is not identical with what is
known today as the Four Gospels, but refers to an
original, since lost, revelation bestowed upon Jesus and
known to his contemporaries under its Greek name of
Evangelion ("Good Tiding"), on which the Arabicized form
Injil is based. It was probably the source from which the
Synoptic Gospels derived much of their material and some
of the teachings attributed to Jesus. The fact of its
having been lost and forgotten is alluded to in the
Qur'an in 5:14. Regarding my rendering of al-furqan as
"the standard by which to discern the true from the
false", see also note [38] on the identical phrase
occurring in 2:53.

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5

The above passage may be regarded as a key to the
understanding of the Qur'an. Tabari identifies the ayat
muhkamat ("messages that are clear in and by themselves")
with what the philologists and jurists describe as nass -
namely, ordinances or statements which are self-evident
(zahir) by virtue of their wording (cf. Lisan al-'Arab,
art. nass). Consequently, Tabari regards as ayat muhkamat
only those statements or ordinances of the Qur'an which
do not admit of more than one interpretation (which does
not, of course, preclude differences of opinion regarding
the implications of a particular ayah muhkamah). In my
opinion, however, it would be too dogmatic to regard any
passage of the Qur'an which does not conform to the above
definition as mutashabih ("allegorical"): for there are
many statements in the Qur'an which are liable to more
than one interpretation but are, nevertheless, not
allegorical - just as there are many expressions and
passages which, despite their allegorical formulation,
reveal to the searching intellect only one possible
meaning. For this reason, the ayat mutashabihat may be
defined as those passages of the Qur'an which are
expressed in a figurative manner, with a meaning that is
metaphorically implied but not directly, in so many
words, stated. The ayat muhkamat are described as the
"essence of the divine writ" (umm al-kitab) because they
comprise the fundamental principles underlying its
message and, in particular, its ethical and social
teachings: and it is only on the basis of these clearly
enunciated principles that the allegorical passages can
be correctly interpreted. (For a more detailed discussion
of symbolism and allegory in the Qur'an, see Appendix I.)

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6

Lit., "that of it".

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7

The "confusion" referred to here is a consequence of
interpreting allegorical passages in an "arbitrary
manner" (Zamakhshari).

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8

According to most of the early commentators, this refers
to the interpretation of allegorical passages which deal
with metaphysical subjects - for instance, God's
attributes, the ultimate meaning of time and eternity,
the resurrection of the dead, the Day of Judgment,
paradise and hell, the nature of the beings or forces
described as angels, and so forth - all of which fall
within the category of al-ghayb, i.e., that sector of
reality which is beyond the reach of human perception and
imagination and cannot, therefore, be conveyed to man in
other than allegorical terms. This view of the classical
commentators, however, does not seem to take into account
the many Qur'anic passages which do not deal with
metaphysical subjects and yet are, undoubtedly,
allegorical in intent and expression. To my mind, one
cannot arrive at a correct understanding of the above
passage without paying due attention to the nature and
function of allegory as such. A true allegory - in
contrast with a mere pictorial paraphrase of something
that could equally well be stated in direct terms - is
always meant to express in a figurative manner something
which, because of its complexity, cannot be adequately
expressed in direct terms or propositions and, because of
this very complexity, can be grasped only intuitively, as
a general mental image, and not as a series of detailed
"statements": and this seems to be the meaning of the
phrase, "none save God knows its final meaning".

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9

It is generally assumed that this is an allusion to the
battle of Badr, in the third week of Ramadan, 2 H., in
which three hundred and odd poorly-equipped Muslims, led
by the Prophet, utterly routed a well-armed Meccan force
numbering nearly one thousand men, seven hundred camels
and one hundred horses; it was the first open battle
between the pagan Quraysh and the young Muslim community
of Medina. According to some commentators, however (e.g.,
Manar III, 234), the above Qur'anic passage has a general
import and alludes to an occurrence often witnessed in
history - namely, the victory of a numerically weak and
ill-equipped group of people, filled with a burning
belief in the righteousness of their cause, over a
materially and numerically superior enemy lacking a
similar conviction. The fact that in this Qur'an-verse
the believers are spoken of as being faced by an enemy
"twice their number" (while at the battle of Badr the
pagan Quraysh were more than three times the number of
the Muslims) lends great plausibility to this explanation
- and particularly so in view of the allusion, in the
next verse, to material riches and worldly power.

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10

The expression bi'l-ashar is usually taken to mean "at
the times before daybreak", or simply "before daybreak".
This is in agreement with the Prophet's recommendation to
his followers (forthcoming from several authentic
Traditions) to devote the latter part of the night, and
particularly the time shortly before dawn, to intensive
prayer. But while the word sahar (also spelled sahr and
suhr), of which ashar is the plural, undoubtedly denotes
"the time before daybreak", it also signifies - in the
spellings sahar and suhr - "the core of the heart", "the
inner part of the heart", or simply "heart" (cf. Lisan
al-'Arab; also Lane IV, 1316). It seems to me that in the
context of the above Qur'an-verse - as well as of 51:18
- this latter rendering is preferable to the conventional
one: for, although the value of praying before daybreak
has undoubtedly been stressed by the Prophet, it is not
very plausible that the Qur'an should have tied the
prayer for forgiveness to a particular time of day.

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12

Most of the classical commentators are of the opinion
that the people referred to are the followers of the
Bible, or of parts of it - i.e., the Jews and the
Christians. It is, however, highly probable that this
passage bears a wider import and relates to all
communities which base their views on a revealed
scripture, extant in a partially corrupted form, with
parts of it entirely lost.

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13

I.e., all these communities at first subscribed to the
doctrine of God's oneness and held that man's
self-surrender to Him (islam in its original connotation)
is the essence of all true religion. Their subsequent
divergencies were an outcome of sectarian pride and
mutual exclusiveness.

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14

According to Razi, this refers to people who have no
revealed scripture of their own.

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15

See surah {2}, note [48].

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16

Lit., "decide [all disputes] between them" - the
reference being to the Torah.

Lit., "that which they were wont to invent has deluded
them in their faith".

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19

I.e., in cases where the interests of those "deniers of
the truth" clash with the interests of believers (Manar
III, 278). Regarding the deeper implications of the term
"allies" (awliya'), see 4:139 and the corresponding
note.

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20

Lit., "unless you fear from them something that is to be
feared". Zamakhshari explains this phrase as meaning,
"unless you have reason to fear that they might do
something which ought to be guarded against" - obviously
referring to situations in which "those who deny the
truth" are more powerful than the Muslims, and are
therefore in a position to damage the latter unless they
become their "allies" in a political or moral sense.

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21

Lit., "breasts". This is a reference to the real motives
underlying the decision of a Muslim group or power to
form an alliance with "those who deny the truth" in
preference to, or against the legitimate interests of,
other believers.

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22

Lit., "offspring of one another" - an allusion not merely
to the physical descent of those prophets but also to the
fact that all of them were spiritually linked with one
another and believed in one and the same fundamental
truth (Tabari). Thus, the above passage is a logical
sequence to verses {31-32}, which make God's approval
contingent upon obedience to His chosen message-bearers.
The names which appear in this sentence circumscribe, by
implication, all the prophets mentioned in the Qur'an
inasmuch as most of them were descendants of two or more
of these patriarchs. The House of 'Imran comprises Moses
and Aaron, whose father was 'Imran (the Amram of the
Bible), and Aaron's descendants, the priestly caste among
the Israelites - thus including John the Baptist, both of
whose parents were of the same descent (cf. the
reference, in Luke i, 5, to John's mother Elisabeth as
one "of the daughters of Aaron"), as well as Jesus, whose
mother Mary - a close relation of John - is spoken of
elsewhere in the Qur'an (19:28) as a "sister of Aaron":
in both cases embodying the ancient Semitic custom of
linking a person's or a people's name with that of an
illustrious forebear. The reference to the House of
'Imran serves as an introduction to the stories of
Zachariah, John, Mary, and Jesus.

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23

My joining of this phrase with the following passage is
in agreement with the interpretation advanced by Muhammad
'Abduh and Rashid Rida' (Manar III, 289).

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24

Lit., "to her" - implying that it was a girl.

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25

Lit., "and the male is not [or "could not be"] like the
female". Zamakhshari reads these words as forming part of
the parenthetic sentence relating to God's knowledge, and
explains them thus: "The male [child] which she had
prayed for could not have been like the female which she
was granted" - which implies that Mary's excellence would
go far beyond any hopes which her mother had ever
entertained.

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26

As is evident from verse {44} of this surah, the
guardianship of Mary was entrusted to Zachariah - who was
not only her relative but also a priest attached to the
Temple - after lots had been drawn to decide which of the
priests should have the responsibility for this girl who,
in consequence of her mother's vow, was to be dedicated
to Temple service (Tabari).

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27

In spite of all the legends quoted in this connection by
most of the commentators, there is no indication
whatsoever either in the Qur'an or in any authentic
Tradition that these provisions were of a miraculous
origin. On the other hand, Tabari quotes a story to the
effect that when, in his old age, Zachariah became unable
to support Mary by his own means, the community decided
to assume this responsibility through another of its
members, who thereupon provided her daily with food.
Whether this story is authentic or not, Mary's answer to
Zachariah reflects no more and no less than her deep
consciousness of God as the ultimate Provider.

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28

In view of the fact that the expression kalimah if often
used in the Qur'an to denote an announcement from God, or
a statement of His will, or His promise (e.g., 4:171,
6:34 and {115}, 10:64, 18:27, and so forth), we
must conclude that in the above passage, too, the "word
from God" which would be confirmed by the birth of John
(described in the Gospels as "John the Baptist") refers
to a divine promise given through revelation: and this,
indeed, is the interpretation adopted by the famous
philologist Abu'Ubaydah Ma'mar ibn al-Muthanna, who lived
in the second century H. and devoted most of his labours
to the study of rare expressions in the Arabic language;
his identification, in the context under discussion, of
kalimah with kitab ("revelation" or "divine writ") has
been quoted by Razi in his commentary on this verse and
is, moreover, agreeable with a similar announcement
conveyed to Mary regarding the birth of Jesus (see verse
{45} of this surah).

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29

According to Abu Muslim (quoted with approval by Razi),
Zachariah was merely enjoined not to speak to anyone
during the period of three days, and not struck dumb as
in the New Testament narrative (Luke i, 20-22): thus the
"sign" was purely spiritual, and was to consist in
Zachariah's utter self-abandonment to prayer and
contemplation.

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30

This parenthetic passage, addressed to the Prophet, is
meant to stress the fact that the story of Mary, as
narrated in the Qur'an, is a direct outcome of revelation
and, therefore, inherently true in spite of all the
differences between this account and that given in the
scriptures regarded by the Christians as authentic
(Muhammad 'Abduh in Manar III, 301 f.).

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31

See note [26] above. The phrase rendered above as "they
drew lots" reads literally, "they cast their reeds" -
obviously a reference to an ancient Semitic custom,
perhaps similar to the divination by means of blunt
arrows practiced by the pre-Islamic Arabs and
comprehensively described in Lane III, 1247. The pronoun
"they" relates to the priests, of whom Zachariah was one.

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32

Lit., "whose name shall be 'the Anointed' (al-masih)".
The designation al-masih is the Arabicized form of the
Aramaic meshiha which, in turn, is derived from the
Hebrew mahsiah, "the anointed" - a term frequently
applied in the Bible to the Hebrew kings, whose accession
to power used to be consecrated by a touch with holy oil
taken from the Temple. This anointment appears to have
been so important a rite among the Hebrews that the term
"the anointed" became in the course of time more or less
synonymous with "king". Its application to Jesus may have
been due to the widespread conviction among his
contemporaries (references to which are found in several
places in the Synoptic Gospels) that he was descended in
direct - and obviously legitimate - line from the royal
House of David. (It is to be noted that this could not
have related to his mother's side, because Mary belonged
to the priestly class descending from Aaron, and thus to
the tribe of Levi, while David descended from the tribe
of Judah.) Whatever may have been the historical
circumstances, it is evident that the honorific "the
Anointed" was applied to Jesus in his own lifetime. In
the Greek version of the Gospels - which is undoubtedly
based on a now-lost Aramaic original - this designation
is correctly translated as Christos (a noun derived from
the Greek verb chriein, "to anoint"): and since it is in
this form - "the Christ" - that the designation al-masih
has achieved currency in all Western languages, I am
using it throughout in my translation.

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33

A metaphorical allusion to the prophetic wisdom which was
to inspire Jesus from a very early age. As regards the
expression min al-muqarrabin ("of those who are drawn
near", i.e., unto God), see 56:11, where the most
excellent among the inmates of paradise are thus
described.

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34

See {19:16-22} and the corresponding notes. In the
context of the story of Mary in Al 'Imran, the
announcement made to her, as well as the parallel one to
Zachariah (verses {39-40} above), is meant to stress
God's unlimited power of creation - specifically, in both
cases, His power to create the circumstances in which His
will is to manifest itself - and thus to bring about any
event, however unexpected or even improbable it might
seem at the time of the announcement.

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35

Lit., "to him".

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36

The passage which follows here - up to the end of verse
{51} - may be understood in either of two ways: as part
of the announcement made to Mary (implying that he would
thus speak in the future) or, alternatively, as a
statement of what, at a later time, he actually did say
to the children of Israel. In view of the narrative form
adopted in verses {52} ff., the second of these two
alternatives seems preferable.

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37

Lit., "[something] like the shape of a bird (tayr); and
then I shall breathe into it, so that it might [or
"whereupon it will"] become a bird...". The noun tayr is
a plural of ta'ir ("flying creature" or "bird"), or an
infinitive noun ("flying") derived from the verb tara
("he flew"). In pre-Islamic usage, as well as in the
Qur'an, the words ta'ir and tayr often denote "fortune"
or "destiny", whether good or evil (as, for instance, in
7:131, 27:47 or 36:19, and still more clearly in
17:13). Many instances of this idiomatic use of tayr
and ta'ir are given in all the authoritative Arabic
dictionaries; see also Lane V, 1904 f. Thus, in the
parabolic manner so beloved by him, Jesus intimated to
the children of Israel that out of the humble clay of
their lives he would fashion for them the vision of a
soaring destiny, and that this vision, brought to life by
his God-given inspiration, would become their real
destiny by God's leave and by the strength of their faith
(as pointed out at the end of this verse).

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38

It is probable that the "raising of the dead" by Jesus is
a metaphorical description of his giving new life to
people who were spiritually dead; cf. 6:122 - "Is then
he who was dead [in spirit], and whom We thereupon gave
life, and for whom We set up a light whereby he can see
his way among men - [is then he] like unto one [who is
lost] in darkness deep, out of which he cannot emerge?"
If this interpretation is - as I believe-correct, then
the "healing of the blind and the leper" has a similar
significance: namely, an inner regeneration of people who
were spiritually diseased and blind to the truth.

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39

I.e., "what good things you may partake of in the life of
this world, and what good deeds you should lay up as a
treasure for the life to come".

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40

Lit., "whatever there is between my hands": for an
explanation, see note [3] on verse {3} of this surah.

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41

This relates to a later time, when Jesus was being
opposed by the majority of his people, and particularly
the Pharisees.

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42

Al-hawariyyun (sing. hawari) is the designation applied
in the Qur'an to the disciples of Jesus. Many
interpretations of this term (derived from ,hawar,
"whiteness") are given by the commentators, ranging from
"one who whitens clothes by washing them" (because this
was allegedly the occupation of some of Jesus' disciples)
to "one who wears white garments", or "one whose heart is
white", i.e., pure (cf. Tabari, Razi, Ibn Kathir). It is,
however, most probable - and the evidence provided by the
recently discovered Dead Sea Scrolls strongly supports
this view - that the term hawari was popularly used to
denote a member of the Essene Brotherhood, a Jewish
religious group which existed in Palestine at the time of
Jesus, and to which, possibly, he himself belonged. The
Essenes were distinguished by their strong insistence on
moral purity and unselfish conduct, and always wore white
garments as the outward mark of their convictions; and
this would satisfactorily explain the name given to them.
The fact that the Prophet once said, "Every prophet has
his hawari" (Bukhari and Muslim) does not conflict with
the above view, since he obviously used this term
figuratively, recalling thereby Jesus' "helpers in God's
cause".

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43

Lit., "write us down" or "inscribe us". It must, however,
be borne in mind that the verb kataba means also "he drew
together" or "brought together": hence the noun katibah,
"a body of men".

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44

Lit., "they schemed" - here referring to those among the
Jews who refused to acknowledge Jesus as a prophet and
tried to destroy him.

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45

This refers to all who revere Jesus (i.e., the
Christians, who believe him to be "the son of God", and
the Muslims, who regard him as a prophet) as well as to
those who deny him altogether. Regarding God's promise to
Jesus, "I shall exalt thee unto Me", see surah {4}, note
[172].

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46

Lit., "This We convey unto thee of the messages and of
the wise tiding." The expression "this of the messages"
bears, to my mind, the connotation of one particular
message - namely, the one which follows immediately after
this sentence.

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47

Lit., "The parable of Jesus is as the parable of
Adam...", etc. The expression mathal (rendered above as
"nature") is often metaphorically employed to denote the
state or condition (of a person or a thing), and is in
this sense - as the commentators have pointed out -
synonymous with sifah (the "quality" or "nature" of a
thing). As is evident from the sequence, the above
passage is part of an argument against the Christian
doctrine of the divinity of Jesus. The Qur'an stresses
here as in many other places, the fact that Jesus, like
Adam - by which name, in this context, the whole human
race is meant - was only a mortal "created out of dust",
i.e., out of substances, both organic and inorganic,
which are found in their elementary forms on and in the
earth. Cf. also 18:3722:5, 30:20, 35:11,
40:67, where the Qur'an speaks of all human beings as
"created out of dust". That "Adam" stands here for the
human race is clearly implied in the use of the present
tense in the last word of this sentence.

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48

I.e., regarding the true nature of Jesus. According to
all the reliable authorities, verses {59-63} of this
surah were revealed in the year 10 H., on the occasion of
a dispute between the Prophet and a deputation of the
Christians of Najran who, like all other Christians,
maintained that Jesus was "the son of God" and,
therefore, God incarnate. Although they refused the
"trial through prayer" (mubahalah) proposed to them by
the Prophet, the latter accorded to them a treaty
guaranteeing all their civic rights and the free exercise
of their religion.

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49

Lit., "a word [that is] equitable between you and us".
The term kalimah, primarily meaning "word" or
"utterance", is often used in the philosophical sense of
"proposition" or "tenet".

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50

Lit., "that we shall not take one another for lords
beside God". Since the personal pronoun "we" obviously
applies to human beings, the expression "one another"
necessarily bears the same connotation. In its wider
implication, the above call is addressed not merely to
the Christians, who attribute divinity to Jesus and
certain aspects of divinity to their saints, but also to
the Jews, who assign a quasi-divine authority to Ezra and
even to some of their great Talmudic scholars (cf.
{9:30-31}).

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51

I.e., as to whether the principles he followed were those
of the Jewish faith, according to which the Torah is
considered to be the final Law of God, or of the
Christian faith, which conflicts with the former in many
respects.

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52

I.e., as to what was the true creed of Abraham. "That
which is known to you" is an allusion to their knowledge
of the obvious fact that many of the teachings based on
the extant versions of the Torah and the Gospels conflict
with the teachings of the Qur'an (Razi).

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53

Lit., "when you [yourselves] bear witness": an allusion
to the Biblical prophecies relating to the coming of the
Prophet Muhammad.

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54

Most of the commentators, relying on views current among
some of the tabi'un (i.e., the generation that came after
the Companions of the Prophet), understand this passage
thus: "Declare at the beginning of the day your belief in
what has been revealed unto those who believe in
Muhammad, and deny the truth [thereof] in its latter
part." This rendering would imply that the
Judaeo-Christian attempts at confusing the Muslims, to
which the above verse refers, consisted in alternatingly
declaring belief and disbelief in the Qur'anic message.
On the other hand, the rendering adopted by me (and
supported by Al-Asam, whose interpretation has been
quoted by Razi in his commentary on this verse) implies
that some Jews and Christians have been and are hoping to
achieve this end by admitting, however reluctantly, that
there may be "some truth" in the early Qur'anic
revelations ("that which has been revealed at the
beginning of the day"), while they categorically reject
its later parts inasmuch as they clearly contradict
certain Biblical teachings.

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55

This refers to the Jews and the Christians, who are not
prepared to accept the Qur'anic message on the ground
that it conflicts with parts of their own scriptures.

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56

In this context, the term fadl ("bounty") is synonymous
with the bestowal of divine revelation.

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57

Lit., "this, because they say". In Arabic usage, the verb
qala (lit., "he said") often signifies "he asserted" or
"expressed an opinion". As is evident from many
Traditions, the people referred to are the Jews.

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58

I.e., they falsely claim that God Himself has exempted
them from all moral responsibility towards non-Jews
(contemptuously described as "unlettered folk"), knowing
well that their own scriptures provide no basis whatever
for such a claim.

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59

Some of the commentators relate the personal pronoun in
'ahdihi to the person or persons concerned, and therefore
take 'ahd as meaning "promise" - thus: "[as for] him who
fulfils his promise...", etc. It is, however, obvious
from the next verse that the pronoun in 'ahdihi refers to
God; consequently, the phrase must be rendered either as
"those who fulfil their duty towards Him", or "those who
keep their bond with Him" - the latter being, in my
opinion, preferable. (For the meaning of man's "bond with
God", see surah {2}, note [19].)

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60

Most of the commentators assume that this refers
specifically to the Jews, whom the Qur'an frequently
accuses of having deliberately corrupted the Old
Testament. However, since the next two verses clearly
relate to Jesus and to the false beliefs of the
Christians regarding his nature and mission, we must
conclude that both Jews and Christians are referred to in
this passage. For this reason, the term al-kitab, which
occurs three times in this sentence, has been rendered
here as "the Bible". - According to Muhammad 'Abduh
(Manar III, 345), the above-mentioned distortion of the
Bible does not necessarily presuppose a corruption of the
text as such: it can also be brought about "by
attributing to an expression a meaning other than the one
which was originally intended". As an example, 'Abduh
quotes the metaphorical use, in the Gospels, of the term
"my Father" with reference to God - by which term, as is
evident from the Lord's Prayer, was obviously meant the
"Father" - i.e., the Originator and Sustainer - of all
mankind. Subsequently, however, some of those who claimed
to be followers of Jesus lifted this expression from the
realm of metaphor and "transferred it to the realm of
positive reality with reference to Jesus alone": and thus
they gave currency to the idea that he was literally "the
son of God", that is, God incarnate.

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61

This obvious reference to Jesus reads, literally, "It is
not [possible] for a human being that God should grant
him...and that thereafter he should say...". Zamakhshari
regards the term hukm ("judgment" or "sound judgment")
occurring in the above sentence as synonymous, in this
context, with ,hikmah ("wisdom").

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62

According to Sibawayh (as quoted by Razi), a rabbani is
"one who devotes himself exclusively to the endeavour to
know the Sustainer (ar-rabb) and to obey Him": a
connotation fairly close to the English expression "a man
of God".

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63

I.e., to attribute divine or semi-divine powers to them:
a categorical rejection of the adoration of saints and
angelic beings.

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64

Lit., "the solemn pledge of the prophets". Zamakhshari
holds that what is meant here is a pledge taken from the
community as a whole: a pledge consisting in their
acceptance of the messages conveyed through the prophets.

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65

Lit., "and I am with you among the witnesses".

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66

Lit., "[any] other than God's religion".

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67

Lit., "will be returned". For an explanation of this
sentence, see 13:15 and the corresponding notes.

The people referred to are the Jews and the Christians.
Their acceptance of the Bible, which predicts the coming
of the Prophet Muhammad, has made them "witnesses" to the
truth of his prophethood. See also verses {70} and {81}
above.

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70

My interpolation, between brackets, of the words "of
other sins" is based on Tabari's convincing explanation
of this passage.

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71

Lit., "there shall not be accepted from any of them the
earth full of gold, were he to proffer it in ransom". The
meaning of this sentence is obviously metaphorical; but
in view of the mention of "ransom", some of the
commentators are of the opinion that what is meant here
are otherwise good actions in this world (and, in
particular, efforts and possessions spent for the sake of
helping one's fellow-men), on the strength of which such
stubborn "deniers of the truth" might plead for God's
clemency on the Day of Judgment - a plea that would be
rejected on the ground of their deliberate denial of
fundamental truths.

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72

After telling those who deliberately deny the truth that
even their benevolent spending of efforts and possessions
during their lifetime will be of no avail to them on the
Day of Judgment, the Qur'an reminds the believers that,
on the other hand, their faith in God cannot be
considered complete unless it makes them conscious of the
material needs of their fellow-beings (cf. 2:177).

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73

Up to this point, most of this surah dealt with the
divine origin of the Qur'an and was meant to establish
the true nature of the mission entrusted to the Prophet -
namely, his call to an acknowledgement of God's oneness
and uniqueness. Now, verses {93-97} are devoted to a
refutation of two objections on the part of the Jews to
what they consider to be an infringement, by the Qur'an,
of Biblical laws, in spite of the oft-repeated Qur'anic
claim that this revelation confirms the truth inherent in
the teachings of the earlier prophets. These two
objections relate to (a) the Qur'anic annulment of
certain dietary injunctions and prohibitions laid down in
the Torah, and (b) the alleged "substitution" of Mecca
for Jerusalem as the direction of prayer (qiblah) - see
surah {2}, note [116]. In order to answer the objection
relating to Jewish food laws, the Qur'an calls to mind
that originally all wholesome foods were lawful to the
children of Israel, and that the severe restrictions
subsequently imposed upon them in the Torah were but a
punishment for their sins (cf. 6:146), and were,
therefore, never intended for a community that truly
surrenders itself to God. For an answer to the second
objection, see verse {96}.

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74

This is a reference to the unwarranted Jewish belief that
the Mosaic food restrictions were an eternal law decreed
by God. As against this claim, the Qur'an stresses that
no food restrictions had been imposed before the time of
Moses and, secondly, that the restrictions arising from
the Mosaic Law were imposed on the children of Israel
alone. To claim that they represent an eternal divine law
is described here as "inventing lies about God".

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75

All authorities agree that this name is syronymous with
Mecca (which, correctly transliterated, is spelt Makkah).
Various etymologies have been suggested for this very
ancient designation; but the most plausible explanation
is given by Zamakhshari (and supported by Razi): in some
old Arabic dialects the labial consonants b and m, being
phonetically close to one another, are occasionally
interchangeable. The mention, in this context, of the
Temple in Mecca - that is, the Ka'bah - arises from the
fact that it is the direction of prayer (qiblah)
stipulated in the Qur'an. Since the prototype of the
Ka'bah was built by Abraham and Ishmael (see 2:125 ff.)
- and is, therefore, much older than the Temple of
Solomon in Jerusalem - its establishment as the qiblah of
the followers of the Quran does not only not imply any
break with the Abrahamic tradition (on which, ultimately,
the whole Bible rests), but, on the contrary,
re-establishes the direct contact with that Patriarch:
and herein lies the answer to the second of the two
Jewish objections mentioned in note [73] above.

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76

Lit., "in it [are] clear messages" - such as the messages
relating to God's oneness and uniqueness (symbolized by
the Ka'bah), to the continuity of mankind's religious
experience ("the first Temple set up for mankind") and,
finally, to the brotherhood of all believers (who,
wherever they may be, turn their faces in prayer towards
this one focal point).

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77

Or: "is secure" - i.e., in the original sense of amn,
which implies "ease of mind and freedom from fear" (cf.
Lane I, 100 f.).

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78

I.e., "through your own scriptures" (see note [69] above,
as well as note [33] on 2:42). This is an allusion to
the attempts of Jews and Christians to "prove" that
Muhammad had "borrowed" the main ideas of the Qur'an from
the Bible and twisted them out of context so as to suit
his own alleged "ambitions".

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79

Lit., "a pit of fire" - a metaphor of the sufferings
which are the inescapable consequence of spiritual
ignorance. The reminder of their one-time mutual enmity
is an allusion to man's lot on earth (cf. 2:36 and
7:24), from which only God's guidance can save him (see
{2:37-38}).

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80

I.e., like the followers of the Bible, who became "Jews"
and "Christians" in spite of the fact that their beliefs
have a common source and are based on the same spiritual
truths (see also 6:159 and the corresponding note).

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81

Lit., "to the worlds". For an explanation of this
sentence, see {6:131-132} and note [117].

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82

As is obvious from the opening sentence of verse {110},
this promise to the followers of the Qur'an is
conditional upon their being, or remaining, a community
of people who "enjoin the doing of what is right and
forbid the doing of what is wrong, and [truly] believe in
God"; and - as history has shown - this promise is bound
to lapse whenever the Muslims fail to live up to their
faith.

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83

I.e., if they return to the concept of God as the Lord
and Sustainer of all mankind, and give up the idea of
being "God's chosen people" which creates a barrier
between them and all other believers in the One God.

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84

The above passage - as the very similar one in 2:61 -
relates specifically to the children of Israel, although
this section as a whole (verses {110-115}) obviously
refers to the followers of the Bible in general, that is,
to both the Jews and the Christians.

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85

Lit., "an upright community": a reference to those among
the followers of the Bible who are truly believers (cf.
the last sentence of verse {110} above) and observe the
"bond with God and with men" (verse {112}).

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86

In a marginal note connected with his commentary on this
verse, Zamakhshari explains this parable thus: "If the
'filth' [i.e., the gainful achievement] of those who deny
the truth is lost, it is lost in its entirety, with
nothing remaining to them in this world and in the life
to come; while, on the other hand, the 'filth' of a
believer is never lost in its entirety: for even if it is
seemingly lost, there remains to him the expectation of a
reward, in the life to come, for his patience in
adversity." In other words, the above Qur'anic phrase is
meant to stress the completeness of loss of all efforts
in the case of those who are bent on denying the truth.

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87

Lit., "from among others than yourselves". Some of the
commentators incline to the view that this expression
comprises all non-Muslims: but this view obviously
conflicts with {60:8-9}, where the believers are
expressly allowed to form friendships with such of the
non-believers as are not hostile to them and to their
faith. Moreover, the sequence makes it clear that by
"those who are not of your kind" are meant only people
whose enmity to Islam and its followers has become
apparent from their behaviour and their utterances
(Tabari). The rendering adopted by me, "people who are
not of your kind", implies that their outlook on life is
so fundamentally opposed to that of the Muslims that
genuine friendship is entirely out of the question.

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88

Lit., "they love that which causes you distress".

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89

I.e., including the revelation of the Bible.

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91

I.e., the clans of Banu Salamah and Banu Harithah, who
had almost joined the deserters led by 'Abd Allah ibn
Ubayy (see preceding note).

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92

A reference to the battle of Badr, in 2 H., which is
dealt with extensively in surah {8}.

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93

As is evident from the next verse, the Prophet's allusion
to God's aiding the believers with thousands of angels
signifies, metaphorically, a strengthening of the
believers' hearts through spiritual forces coming from
God (Manar IV, 112 ff., and IX, 612 ff.). A very similar
announcement - relating to the battle of Badr - occurs in
{8:9-10}, where "one thousand" angels are mentioned. As
regards these varying numbers (one, three and five
thousand), they would seem to indicate the unlimited
nature of God's aid to those who are "patient in
adversity and conscious of Him". It is reasonable to
assume that the Prophet thus exhorted his followers
immediately before the battle of Uhud, that is, after
three hundred men under the leadership of 'Abd Allah ibn
Ubayy had deserted him and some of the others "almost
lost heart" in the face of the greatly superior enemy
forces.

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94

According to many commentators (see Manar IV, 112), this
interpolation is justified by the preceding two verses,
which show that it was the Prophet who, under divine
inspiration, made this promise to his followers. See also
8:9, where a similar promise is voiced on the occasion
of the battle of Badr.

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95

Lit., "that He might destroy some...or [so] abase them".
It is obvious that the particle aw ("or") does not, in
this context, denote an alternative but, rather, a
specification (tanwi') - as, for instance, in the phrase
"ten persons were killed or injured": meaning that some
of them were killed and others injured.

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96

As recorded in several authentic Traditions, the Prophet
invoked, during the battle of Uhud, God's curse upon the
leaders of the pagan Quraysh (Bukhari, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i
and Ahmad ibn Hanbal); and when he lay on the ground
severely injured, he exclaimed, "How could those people
prosper after having done this to their prophet, who but
invites them to [acknowledge] their Sustainer?"-whereupon
the above two verses were revealed (Muslim and Ibn
Hanbal).

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97

For a definition of riba ("usury"), see note [35] on
30:39, the earliest Qur'anic reference to this term. As
for the connection of the above verse with the
subject-matter dealt with in the foregoing, the best
explanation is, to my mind, the one offered by Qiffal (as
quoted by Razi): Since it was mainly through usurious
gains that the pagan Meccans had acquired the wealth
which enabled them to equip their powerful army and
almost to defeat the poorly-armed Muslims at Uhud, the
latter might have been tempted to emulate their enemies
in this respect; and it was to remove this temptation -
from them as well as from later generations of believers
- that the prohibition of usury was once again stressed
through revelation.

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98

The word sunnah (of which sunan is the plural) denotes a
"way of life" or "conduct" (hence its application, in
Islamic terminology, to the way of life of the Prophet as
an example for his followers). In the above passage, the
term sunan refers to the "conditions (ahwal)
characteristic of past centuries" (Razi), in which,
despite all the continuous changes, an ever-recurring
pattern can be discerned: a typically Qur'anic reference
to the possibility, and necessity, of learning from man's
past experiences.

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99

A reference to the near-disaster at Uhud and the heavy
loss of lives (about seventy men) which the Muslims had
suffered.

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100

Lit., "a wound" (qarh) or, according to some
philologists, "pain caused by a wound".

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101

I.e., "His decision to let some of you die as martyrs in
His cause is not due to love of the sinful enemies who
oppose you, but to His love for you." The term shuhada'
(pl. of shahid) denotes "witnesses" as well as "martyrs".
The rendering adopted by me comprises both the concepts
of "bearing witness to the truth" and of "martyrdom" in
God's cause.

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102

Lit., "while God has not yet taken cognizance of those of
you who have striven...and those who are patient in
adversity". Since God is all-knowing, His "not taking
cognizance" implies, of course, that the thing or
happening referred to has not come about or is
non-existent (Zamakhshari).

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103

In Zamakhshari's opinion, this is a twofold reproach
addressed to the majority of the Companions who took part
in the battle of Uhud: firstly, on account of their
insistence, against the Prophet's advice, on giving
battle to the enemy in the open field and thereby
unnecessarily courting a deadly danger; and, secondly, on
account of their failure to live up to their faith during
the earlier part of the battle (see note [90] above).
This passage may have yet another, more positive
implication: namely, a reference to the lesson which the
believers should draw from their near-defeat, and a
reminder of the fact that their future depends on the
strength of their faith in God (cf. verse {139} above)
and not on a fleeting desire for self-sacrifice.

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104

This stress on the mortality of the Prophet - and that of
all the other prophets who preceded him in time -
connects, in the first instance, with the battle of Uhud
and the rumour of his death, which caused many Muslims to
abandon the fight and even brought some of them close to
apostasy (Tabari; see also note [90] above). In its wider
implication, however, the above verse re-states the
fundamental Islamic doctrine that adoration is due to God
alone, and that no human being - not even a prophet - may
have any share in it. It was this very passage of the
Qur'an which Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, recited
immediately after the Prophet's death, when many
faint-hearted Muslims thought that Islam itself had come
to an end; but as soon as Abu Bakr added, "Behold,
whoever has worshipped Muhammad may know that Muhammad
has died; but whoever worships God may know that God is
ever-living, and never dies" (Bukhari), all confusion was
stilled. - The expression "turning about on one's heels"
denotes - according to circumstances - either actual
apostasy or a deliberate withdrawal from efforts in the
cause of God.

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105

Lit., "He is the best of all who bring succour".

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106

I.e., something which He never permits. The use of the
adverb "never" in my rendering is based on the
grammatical form lam yunazzil (lit., "He has not been
sending down" or "bestowing from on high"), which implies
continuity in time.

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107

Lit., "when you were destroying them": a reference to the
opening stages of the battle of Uhud. Regarding the
promise alluded to, see verses {124-125} of this surah.

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108

Lit., "you disagreed with one another regarding the
[Prophet's] command" - an allusion to the abandonment of
their post by most of the archers at the moment when it
seemed that victory had been won (see note [90] above).

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109

Out of the fifty Muslim archers less than ten remained at
their post, and were killed by Khalid's cavalry. It is to
them, as well as the few Companions who went on fighting
after the bulk of the Muslims had fled, that the second
part of the above sentence refers.

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110

Lit., "He turned you away from them".

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111

I.e., the realization of how shamefully they had behaved
at Uhud (see note [90] above) would be, in the end, more
painful to them than the loss of victory and the death of
so many of their comrades: and this is the meaning of the
"test" mentioned in the preceding verse.

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112

I.e., those who had remained steadfast throughout the
battle. According to some commentators - in particular
Raghib - the term nu'as (lit., "the drowsiness which
precedes sleep") is used here metaphorically, and denotes
"inner calm".

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113

I.e., in the matter of victory or defeat. The "thoughts
of pagan ignorance" is obviously an allusion to the
initial reluctance of those faint-hearted people to admit
their moral responsibility for what had happened, and to
their excusing themselves by saying that their failure to
live up to their faith had been "predestined". See also
surah {5}, note [71].

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114

I.e., while it is for God alone to apportion actual
success or failure to whomever He wills "nought shall be
accounted unto man but what he is [or "was"] striving
for" (53:39).

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115

Lit., "we would not have been killed here".

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116

Lit., "all that is in your hearts".

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117

This is an illustration of a significant Qur'anic
doctrine, which can be thus summarized: "Satan's
influence" on man is not the primary cause of sin but its
first consequence: that is to say, a consequence of a
person's own attitude of mind which in moments of moral
crisis induces him to choose the easier, and seemingly
more pleasant, of the alternatives open to him, and thus
to become guilty of a sin, whether by commission or
omission. Thus, God's "causing" a person to commit a sin
is conditional upon the existence, in the individual
concerned, of an attitude of mind which makes him prone
to commit such a sin: which, in its turn, presupposes
man's free will - that is, the ability to make, within
certain limitations, a conscious choice between two or
more possible courses of action.

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118

Lit., "when they travel on earth".

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119

Lit., "so that God causes this to be": but since the
particle li in li-yaj'al is obviously a lam al-'aqibah
(i.e., the letter lam denoting a causal sequence), it is
best rendered in this context by the conjunctive particle
"and", combined with the future tense.

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120

Lit., "they".

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121

Lit., "with them" - i.e., with those of his followers who
had failed in their duty before and during the disaster
at Uhud. According to all available accounts, the Prophet
did not even reproach any of them for what they had done.

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122

This injunction, implying government by consent and
council, must be regarded as one of the fundamental
clauses of all Qur'anic legislation relating to
statecraft. The pronoun "them" relates to the believers,
that is, to the whole community; while the word al-amr
occurring in this context - as well as in the much
earlier-revealed phrase amruhum shura baynahum in 42:38
- denotes all affairs of public concern, including state
administration. All authorities agree in that the above
ordinance, although addressed in the first instance to
the Prophet, is binding on all Muslims and for all times.
(For its wider implications see State and Government in
Islam, pp. 44 ff.) Some Muslim scholars conclude from the
wording of this ordinance that the leader of the
community, although obliged to take counsel, is
nevertheless free to accept or to reject it; but the
arbitrariness of this conclusion becomes obvious as soon
as we recall that even the Prophet considered himself
bound by the decisions of his council (see note [90]
above). Moreover, when he was asked - according to a
Tradition on the authority of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib - to
explain the implications of the word 'azm ("deciding upon
a course of action") which occurs in the above verse, the
Prophet replied, "[It means] taking counsel with
knowledgeable people (ahl ar-ra'y) and thereupon
following them [therein]" (see Ibn Kathir's commentary on
this verse).

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123

I.e., by attributing his own opinions to God, and then
appealing to the believers to place their trust in Him
alone. However contrary to reason such deceit may be, it
is a common view among non-believers that the Prophet
himself "composed" the Qur'an and thereupon falsely
attributed it to divine revelation.

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124

An allusion, in this case, to the Prophet Muhammad as
well as to prophets in general.

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125

I.e., by falsely attributing his own views to God or
distorting His messages by arbitrary interpolations and
deliberate changes in the wording of a revelation - an
accusation often levelled in the Qur'an (e.g., 2:79 and
3:78) against the followers of earlier revelations.

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126

I.e., at the battle of Badr, in the year 2 H.

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127

Many of the followers of the Prophet had been convinced
that, whatever the circumstances, God would grant them
victory on account of their faith alone. The bitter
experience at Uhud came as a shock to them; and so the
Qur'an reminds them that this calamity was a consequence
of their own doings.

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128

Only a fight in self-defence - in the widest meaning of
this term - can be considered a "fight in God's cause"
(see {2:190-194}, and the corresponding notes); and,
thus, the particle "or" between these two phrases is
almost synonymous with the expression "in other words".

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129

This is an allusion to the three hundred men who, on the
way from Medina to Mount Uhud, forsook the Prophet on the
specious plea that he did not really intend to give
battle (see note [90] above). But since they knew in
their hearts that it would come to a fight, their
defection from God's cause almost amounted to a denial of
Him (kafr, here rendered as "apostasy").

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130

Lit., "after injury had afflicted them". Most of the
commentators assume that this is an allusion to the
losses sustained by the Muslims at the battle of Uhud. It
is, however, probable that the implication is much wider,
the more so since this passage connects directly with the
preceding verses which speak, in general terms, of the
martyrs who die in God's cause. There is a distinct
tendency on the part of most of the classical
commentators to read minute historical references into
many Qur'anic passages which express ideas of a far wider
import and apply to the human condition as such. Verses
{172-175} are an instance of this. Some commentators are
of the opinion that they refer to the fruitless
expedition to Hamra'al-Asad on the day following the
battle of Uhud, while others see in it an allusion to the
Prophet's expedition, in the following year, known to
history as the "Little Badr" (Badr as-Sughra); others,
again, think that verse {172} refers to the former and
verses {173-174} to the latter. In view of this obvious
lack of unanimity - due to the absence of a really
authoritative support, either in the Qur'an itself or in
authentic Traditions, for any of these speculative
assumptions - there is every reason for concluding that
the whole passage under consideration expresses a general
moral, rounding off, as it were, the historical
references to the battle of Uhud and the lessons to be
drawn therefrom.

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131

Lit., "those to whom people said".

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132

I.e., the moral evil arising out of weakness of faith and
loss of courage: an allusion to what happened to many
Muslims at Uhud.

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133

I.e., people who "ally themselves with Satan" by
deliberately doing wrong.

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134

Lit., "that He will not assign to them a share".

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135

This is an allusion to the doctrine of natural law (in
Qur'anic terminology, sunnat Allah, "God's way") to which
man's inclinations and actions - as well as all other
happenings in the universe - are subject. The above verse
says, as it were, "Since these people are bent on denying
the truth, Our giving them rein [that is, freedom of
choice and time for a reconsideration of their attitude]
will not work out for their benefit but will, on the
contrary, cause them to grow in false self-confidence
and, thus, in sinfulness." As in many similar passages in
the Qur'an, God attributes here their "growing in
sinfulness" to His own will because it is He who has
imposed on all His creation the natural law of cause and
effect. (See also note [4] on 14:4.)

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136

Some commentators (e.g., Razi) assume that the expression
ma antum 'alayhi (lit., "that upon which you are")
denotes here "the condition in which you are" - i.e., the
state of weakness and confusion in which the Muslim
community found itself after the battle of Uhud - and
that, therefore, this passage is addressed to the
believers. This interpretation, however, is not
plausible. Apart from the fact that the believers are
here referred to in the third person. while ma antum
'alayhi is in the second person plural, the latter
expression denotes almost invariably, both in the Qur'an
and in the Traditions, people's mode of life and beliefs.
Moreover, we have reliable reports to the effect that Ibn
'Abbas, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak, Muqatil and Al-Kalbi
unhesitatingly declared that the people addressed here
are "those who deny the truth" to whom the preceding
passages refer (see Tabari's and Baghawi's commentaries
on this verse). Read in this sense, the above passage
implies that the believers would, in time, differ from
the unbelievers not only in their convictions but also in
their social aims and their manner of living.

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137

I.e., it is through these apostles that God vouchsafes to
man a partial glimpse of the reality of which He alone
has full knowledge.

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138

This is an allusion to the way of life of the unbelievers
mentioned in verse {179} above: a way of life
characterized by extreme attachment to the material
things of this world - a materialism based on a lack of
belief in anything that transcends the practical problems
of life.

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139

According to several authentic Traditions, the Jews of
Medina were given to satirizing the phraseology of the
Qur'an, and especially 2:245 - "Who is it that will
offer up unto God a goodly loan, which He will amply
repay, with manifold increase?"

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140

Regarding this accusation levelled against the Jews, see
surah {2}, note [48].

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141

Lit., "with an offering which the fire consumes" -in
other words, unless he conforms to Mosaic Law, which
prescribes burnt offerings as an essential part of divine
services. Although this aspect of the Law had been left
in abeyance ever since the destruction of the Second
Temple in Jerusalem, the Jews of post-Talmudic times were
convinced that the Messiah promised to them would restore
the Mosaic rites in their entirety; and so they refused
to accept as a prophet anyone who did not conform to the
Law of the Torah in every detail.

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142

At the time of the martyrdom of John the Baptist and of
Zachariah, of Jesus' exclamation, "O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets" (Matthew
xxiii, 37), and of the reference of Paul of Tarsus to the
Jews "who killed their own prophets" (I Thessalonians ii,
15), the Second Temple was still in existence, and burnt
offerings were a daily practice: thus, the refusal of the
Jews to accept the prophets alluded to, culminating in
their killing, could not be attributed to those prophets'
lack of conformity with Mosaic Law.

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143

This connects with verses {183-184}, where the Jews are
spoken of as refusing to accept the message of the
Qur'an. The implication of verse {187} above is that the
advent of the Prophet Muhammad was predicted in both the
Old and New Testaments, and that the followers of the
Bible had been called upon to spread this prophecy and
not - as they actually have done - to suppress it.

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144

Lit., "that which they are buying" - an allusion to the
belief of the Jews that they are "God's chosen people",
and to the conviction of the Christians that their belief
in Jesus' "vicarious atonement" automatically assures to
them salvation: the "bargain" being, in both cases, an
illusion of immunity in the life to come.

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145

I.e., they have not, in spite of all their claims,
preserved the integrity of the Bible and of Abraham's
faith (Razi).